1UHHB  HKIGSiSAL  Lu;uli 


THE  UNIVERSITY 

OF  ILLINOIS 

LIBRARY 

Purchased  from 
Mr.  H«   A»   Rattermann 
of   Cincinnati   in  1915 

92jOO"77I 
V      H54b 

IttMOS  HSIORICM  r!i"VEY 


LIBRARY 

OF  THE 

UNIVERSITY  OF  ILLINOIS 


BIOGRAPHICAL   AND    HISTORICAL 

MEMOIRS 


OF    THE    EARLY 


PIONEER  SETTLERS  OF  OHIO, 


WITH   NARRATIVES   OF 


INCIDENTS  AND  OCCURRENCES  IN  1775. 


BY  S.  P.  HILDRETH,  M.  D. 


TO   WHICH   IS   ANNEXED 


!  A  JOURNAL  OF  OCCURRENCES  WHICH  HAPPENED  IN  THE  CIRCLES  OF 
THE   AUTHOR'S  PERSONAL  OBSERVATION,  IN  THE  DETACHMENT  COM- 
MANDED BY  COL,  BENEDICT  ARNOLD,  CONSISTING  OF  TWO 
BATTALIONS  FROM  THE  UNITED  STATES  ARMY,  AT 
CAMBRIDGE,  MASS.,  IN  A.  D.  1775 :" 


BY  COLONEL  R.  J.  MEIGS. 


CINCINNATI: 
H.   W.   DERBY  &  CO.,   PUBLISHERS. 

1852. 


Entered  according  to  act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  of  our  Lord,  one 
thousand,  eight  hundred  and  fifty-two,byH.  W.  Derby  &  Co.,  in  the 
Clerk'a  Office  of  the  District  Court  for  the  District  of  Ohio. 


CINCINNATI  : 

Morgan  ($•  Overrud,  /'-  >:'rr* 


H  5V  b 


PREFACE. 


This  is  the  second  volume  of  the  Early  History  of  Ohio,  prepared  by 
Dr.  Hildreth  of  Marietta,  and  published  under  the  auspices  of  the  Ohio 
Historical  Society.  It  is  composed  of  a  series  of  Biographical  Notices  of 
the  early  settlers  of  Washington  County,  who  were  also  the  early  settlers 
jV  of  Ohio.  Among  them  are  some  names  celebrated  in  American  history, 
whose  active  life  commenced  amid  the  most  stirring  events  of  the  Revolu- 
tion, and  whose  evening  days  were  finished  amid  the  fresh  and  forest 
scenes  of  a  new  and  rising  State.  So  various  and  eventful  lives  as  theirs 
have  scarcely  ever  fallen  to  the  lot  of  man.  They  were  born  under  a 
monarchy, — fought  the  battle  of  Independence, — assisted  in  the  baptism 
of  a  great  republic, — then  moved  into  a  wilderness, — and  laid  the  founda- 
tions of  a  State, — itself  almost  equaling  an  empire.  These  men  not  only 
lived  in  remarkable  times,  but  were  themselves  remarkable  men.  Ener- 
getic, industrious,  persevering,  honest,  bold,  and  free  —  they  were  limited 
in  their  achievements  only  by  the  limits  of  possibility.  Successful  alike 
in  field  and  forest, — they  have,  at  length,  gone  to  their  rest, — leaving 
names  which  are  a  part  of  the  fame  and  the  history  of  their  country. 

Among  the  biographies  of  such  men  will  also  be  found  notices  of  some 
women,  whose  characters  deserve  to  be  perpetuated  among  the  memories 
of  the  State.  The  public  and  posterity  will  owe  much  to  Dr.  Hildreth  for 
having  so  carefully  preserved  these  memoirs  of  the  early  times.  The 
Historical  Society  deeply  regrets  that  it  has  no  power  to  do  more  than 
.•.'■rely  introduce  this  interesting  volume  to  the  public. 

Edward  D.  Mansfield, 
Presidenl  of  the  Ohio  Historical  Society. 


367153 


CONTENTS. 


PAGE. 

INTRODUCTION 3 

RUFUS  PUTNAM 13 

ABRAHAM  WHIPPLE 120 

JAMES  MITCHELL  VARNUM 165 

SAMUEL  HOLDEN  PARSONS 186 

BENJAMIN  TUPPER 217 

EBENEZER  SPROAT 230 

JONATHAN  DEVOL 241 

RETURN  JONATHAN  MEIGS 258 

GRIFFIN  GREENE 273 

PAUL  FEARING 291 

JOSEPH  AND  REBECCA  GILMAN 302 

BENJAMIN  IVES  AND  HANNAH  GILMAN 306 

MARY  LAKE 320 

DANIEL  STORY 325 

JABEZ  TRUE 329 

WILLIAM  DANA 337 

NATHANIEL  GUSHING 340 

JONATHAN  HASKELL 345 

EBENEZER  BATTELLE 349 

ISRAEL  PUTNAM 354 

NATHAN  GOODALE 358 


viii  CONTENTS. 

ROBERT  BRADFORD 370 

AARON  WALDO  PUTNAM 372 

JONATHAN  STONE 380 

ROBERT  OLIVER „ .  391 

B  \  I  FIELD  WHITE 396 

DEAN  TYLER 393 

WILLIAM    GRAY 399 

WILLIAM  STACEY 401 

THE   FIRST  SETTLEMENT  OF  ATHENS  COUNTY,   OHIO 408 

JERVIS   CUTLER 414 

A  HISTORY  OF  THE   FIRST    SETmsMENT  OF  AMESTOWN,  IN 

ATHENS  COUNTY,   OHIO 431 

BENJAMIN  BROWN 428 

JOSEPH  BARKER 433 

HAMILTON  KERR 464 

ISAAC  AND  REBECCA  WILLIAMS 475 

HARMAN  AND  MARGARET  BLENNERHASSETT 491 

APPENDIX 529 


INTRODUCTION. 

"The  early  history  of  the  first  settlements  in  the  now  great  state 
of  Ohio,  not  only  ought  to  be  preserved  as  an  important  epoch  in 
the  general  history  of  our  common  country,  but  also  the  characters 
and  public  services  of  those  men  who  were  eminent  in  forming  these 
settlements,  have  a  claim  to  go  down  to  posterity  amongst  the  bene- 
factors of  mankind.  The  influence  of  their  morals  and  habits  has 
had  a  lasting  effect  on  society,  and  is  now  perceptible  in  the  general 
character  of  the  communities  in  which  they  resided.  The  facts  thus 
preserved,  will  enable  the  future  historian  to  account  for  many  things 
in  our  history  which  otherwise  might  appear  obscure.  The  origin 
of  an  orderly,  well  regulated  society,  in  any  given  district,  may  often 
be  explained  by  tracing  back  its  history  to  the  influence  exerted 
over  it  by  some  one  or  more  individuals,  who  have  imparted  this 
character  to  it  in  its  commencement :  while  the  example  of  a  few 
dissolute  men,  may  have  done  much  in  placing  a  stigma  on  the  name 
of  a  place,  that  will  remain  for  ages."  The  settlements  of  the  Ohio 
Company,  were  fortunate  in  this  respect ;  all  the  leading  and  influ- 
ential men  were  on  the  side  of  good  order,  morality  and  religion ; 
and  the  impress  of  their  character  is  seen  and  felt  to  this  day,  in  the 
well  regulated,  quiet  habits,  of  a  New  England  community,  worthy 
the  descendants  of  their  Puritan  ancestors.  While  many  of  the  early 
colonies  in  the  West,  were  composed  of  the  ignorant,  the  vulgar,  and 
the  rude,  those  of  Washington  county,  like  some  of  the  Grecian, 
carried  with  them,  the  sciences  and  the  arts ;  and  although  placed 
on  the  frontiers,  amidst  the  howling  wilderness,  and  tribes  of  hostile 
savages,  exposed  to  danger  and  privation,  there  ran  in  the  veins  of 
these  little  bands,  some  of  the  best  blood  of  the  country.  They 
enrolled  many  men  of  highly  cultivated  minds  and  exalted  intellect. 
There  was  at  one  time,  in  1789,  no  less  than  ten  of  these,  who  had 


X  INTRODUCTION. 

received  the  honors  of  a  college  course  of  education :  a  larger 
number  than  can  now  be  found  in  the  same  district  of  country,  if  the 
professors  in  the  Marietta  College  are  excluded.  The  Hon.  William 
Woodbridge,  in  his  remarks  before  the  Senate  of  the  United  States, 
on  the  question  of  the  annexation  of  Texas,  against  which  the  citi- 
zens of  Marietta,  with  thousands  of  others  in  Ohio,  loudly  remon- 
strated, when  presenting  that  paper,  gave  the  following  sketch  of 
the  character  of  the  men  who  first  founded  that  place  : 

"  It  was  on  the  7th  of  April,  1788,  that  this  settlement  was  first 
commenced  ;  it  was  then  that  the  first  stone,  the  corner  stone,  of 
this  great  state  was  laid ;  and  it  was  laid  by  these  men,  or  by  their 
immediate  ancestors.  The  colony  then  consisted  almost  entirely  of 
a  remnant,  and  a  most  revered  remnant,  of  your  armies  of  the 
Revolution — of  officers  and  soldiers,  who,  at  the  close  of  that  seven 
years'  term  of  privation,  of  suffering,  and  of  battles,  found  them- 
selves let  loose  upon  the  world  with  their  private  fortunes,  in  gen- 
eral ruined,  estranged  almost  from  their  own  early  homes,  and 
with  occupations  gone  !  If  they  were  of  any  of  the  learned  profes- 
sions, and  there  were  many  such,  their  professions  were  forgotten,  and 
if  their  pursuits  had  been  agricultural,  commercial,  or  mechanical, 
why  they  had  lost  those  business  habits  so  difficult  to  acquire,  but 
which  are  yet  so  indispensable  to  success ;  and  such  of  their  pay, 
too,  as  they  may  have  been  enabled  to  preserve,  being  old  conti- 
nental certificates,  and  become  almost  worthless  in  their  hands,  for 
all  available  purposes.  In  circumstances  of  so  much  gloom,  the 
thought  occurred  of  establishing  themselves  once  more  in  a  body, 
in  the  untrodden  West.  During  many  years  they  had  camped  to- 
gether, and  eaten  together ;  they  had  fought  and  bled  together  ;  there 
was  something  pleasing  in  the  plan  of  continuing  still  closer,  their 
social  and  friendly  relations.  They  had  warrants  which  entitled 
them  to  public  lands  ;  many  of  them  had  continental  certificates  and 
other  evidences  of  claim,  which  would  go  far  to  enable  them  to  make 
their  purchase.  An  association  was  formed  ;  negotiations  with  the 
old  Continental  Congress  and  with  the  Board  of  War  were  com- 
menced, and  during  the  year  1787,  a  purchase  was  effected;  and  on 
the  7th  of  April,  as  I  have  said,  1788,  the  first  and  principal  detach 


INTRODUCTION.  ?  i 

mcnt  of  that  interesting  corps  of  emigrants,  landed  at  the  confluence 
of  the  Muskingum  with  the  Ohio  river.  This  was  directly  athwart 
the  old  Indian  war  path;  for  it  was  down  the  Muskingum  and  its 
tributary  branches,  that  the  Wyandotts,  the  Shawnees,  the  Ottawas, 
and  all  the  Indians  of  the  north  amd  northwest,  were  accustomed  to 
march,  when  from  time  to  time,  for  almost  half  a  century  before, 
they  made  those  dreadful  incursions,  into  western  Virginia  and  wes- 
tern Pennsylvania,  which  spread  desolation,  and  ruin,  and  despair, 
through  all  those  regions.  Being  arrived  there,  they  marked  out 
their  embryo  city,  and  in  honor  of  the  friend  of  their  country,  the 
queen  of  France,  called  it  Marietta.  They  surrounded  it  with  pali- 
sades and  abatis  ;  they  erected  block-houses  and  bastions.  On  an 
eminence  a  little  above,  and  near  the  Muskingum,  they  constructed 
a  more  regular  and  scientific  fortification.  Thus  did  the  settlement 
of  that  great  state  commence.  Among  these  colonists  were  very 
many  of  the  most  distinguished  officers  of  the  Revolution,  and  of 
all  grades.  Gen.  Rufus  Putnam,  and  Gen.  Benjamin  Tupper,  of  the 
Massachusetts  line,  were  there.  Gen.  Parsons  of  the  Connecticut, 
and  Gen.  Varnum,  of  the  Rhode  Island  lines,  were  there.  Old  Com- 
modore Whipple,  of  Rhode  Island,  for  whom  the  honor  is  claimed 
of  firing  the  first  hostile  gun  from  on  board  a  '  Congress '  vessel  of 
war,  and  who  during  the  whole  war,  was  another  '  Paul  Jones,' 
and  as  active  and  daring,  found  his  grave  there  ;  as  did  a  near  rela- 
tive of  Gen.  Nathaniel  Green.  The  sons  of  the  'Wolf  catcher,' 
Gen.  Israel  Putnam,  and  the  descendants  of  Manasseh  Cutler,  were 
there.  Col.  Cushing  and  Col.  Sproat,  Col.  Oliver  and  Col.  Sargent, 
and  multitudes  of  others,  distinguished  alike  for  their  bravery,  for 
their  patriotism,  and  for  their  skill  in  war,  were  there.  Some  few 
there  are,  some  very  few,  still  alive,  and  whose  names  I  recognize, 
who  constituted  a  part  of  this  wonderful  band  of  veteran  soldiers. 
The  rest,  one  after  another,  have  dropped  off.  Many  of  the  things  I 
have  adverted  to,  I  personally  saw.  I  was  a  child  then,  but  I  well 
recollect  the  regular  morning  reveille,  and  the  evening  tattoo,  that 
helped  to  give  character  to  the  establishment.  Even  on  the  Sabbath, 
the  male  population  were  always  under  arms,  and  with  their  chap- 
lain, who  was  willing  to  share  the  lot  of  his  comrades,  were  accus- 


Xii  INTRODUCTION. 

tomed  to  march  in  battle  array,  to  their  block-house  church.  And 
I  take  this  occasion  to  remark,  that  it  was  not  until  the  memorable 
victory  of  Gen.  Wayne,  that  the  war  of  the  Revolution  really  ended^ 
and  Gen.  Harrison  was  right  when  he  made  that  assertion." 

There  is  nothing  more  noble  than  to  feel  a  deep  interest  in  the 
honor  of  our  country,  our  state,  or  the  community  in  which  we  mingle. 
The  history  of  these  men  belongs  to  the  United  States  ;  their  breasts 
were  often  the  bulwarks,  which,  in  the  "  time  of  trial,"  saved  us  from 
the  enslaving  power  of  Great  Britain,  and  we  are  endeavoring  to 
preserve  their  names  and  their  characters  from  oblivion,  by  erecting 
this  historical  monument  to  their  memory.  For  the  materials  on 
which  it  is  founded,  the  author  is  indebted  to  many  kind  friends, 
generally  the  relatives  of  the  persons,  but  in  an  especial  manner  to 
W.  R.  Putnam,  Esq.,  Hon.  Judge  Cutler,  Col.  Joseph  Barker,  and 
William  Slocomb :  for  Com.  Whipple,  to  his  grandson,  Dr.  Corn- 
stock,  of  Boston,  John  Howland,  Esq.,  of  Providence,  Rhode  Island, 
and  P.  G.  Robbins,  M.  D.,  of  Roxbury,  Massachusetts.  The 
names  of  many  other  prominent  men  are  omitted  from  a  lack  of  the 
facts  on  which  to  found  a  written  biography  ;  and  the  larger  number 
of  those  here  given  were  obtained  with  much  laborious  search, 
amongst  old  letters,  volumes  of  history,  oral  tradition,  and  numer- 
ous letters  of  inquiry  written  to  the  relatives  of  the  deceased,  in 
various  and  distant  parts  of  the  country.  A  full  and  well  written  biog- 
raphy of  the  late  Gov.  Meigs,  who  was  one  of  the  early  settlers  of 
Marietta,  has  been  published  in  a  posthumous  volume  of  Sketches 
of  the  early  Settlers  of  Ohio,  by  the  late  Alexander  Campbell,  Esq., 
and  is  not  given  here.*  The  present  work  has  many  imperfections, 
but  may  be  the  means  of  preserving  some  facts  not  generally  known, 
for  the  use  of  a  future  and  more  able  historian. 


*  That  of  General  It.  Putnam  in  the  same  volume,  is  a  brief  sketch  taken  from  a 
newspaper  notice  at  the  time  of  his  death ;  and  that  of  Paul  Fearing,  Esq.,  was 
written  for  Mr.  Campbell,  by  the  author  of  this  volume,  and  is  now  republished 
with  some  additions. 


\ 


OF  THE 
UNIVERSITY  OF  ILLINOIS 


» 


h/^^i}> 


PIONEER  SETTLERS  OF  OHIO, 


RUFUS    PUTNAM 


General  Rufus  Putnam,  the  subject  of  this  historical 
memoir,  was  a  descendant  in  the  fifth  generation  from  John 
Putnam,  who  emigrated  from  Buckinghamshire,  England, 
and  settled  at  Salem,  in  the  province  of  Massachusetts,  in 
the  year  1G34.  He  brought  over  with  him  three  sons,  who 
were  born  in  England,  viz.:  Thomas,  Nathaniel  and  John. 
The  father  died  quite  suddenly,  when  about  eighty  years 
old.  He  ate  his  supper  as  usual,  performed  family  worship, 
and  died  directly  after  getting  into  his  bed. 

Edward  Putnam,  the  son  of  Thomas,  and  grandfather  of 
Rufus  Putnam,  in  the  year  1733,  made  the  following  record : 
"  From  those  three  proceeded  twelve  males,  and  from  these 
twelve  forty  males,  and  from  the  forty  eighty -two  males  j" 
so  that  in  1733,  there  were  eighty-two  males  by  the  name 
of  Putnam,  besides  the  females.  All  of  that  name  in  New 
England  were  the  descendants  of  John. 

With  respect  to  their  condition  in  life,  he  observes,  "I 
have  been  young,  I  now  am  old ;  yet  have  I  not  seen  the 
righteous  forsaken,  nor  his  seed  begging  bread ;  except  from 
God,  who  provides  for  all ;  for  he  hath  given  to  the  genera- 
tion of  my  fathers  Agur's  petition,  neither  poverty  nor  riches ; 
but  hath  fed  us  with  food  convenient  for  us,  and  their  children 
have  been  able  to  help  others  in  their  need." 


14  RUFUS    PUTNAM. 

When  this  was  written,  he  was  seventy-nine  years  old. 
He  lived  after  that  fourteen  years,  and  died  when  he  was  in 
his  ninety-fourth  year.  This  Edward  was  the  grandson  of 
John,  the  patriarch  of  the  Putnams  in  New  England.  The 
males  of  this  family  were  for  many  ages  famous  for  longev- 
ity, numbers  of  them  living  to  be  over  eighty  years  old,  and 
several  over  ninety.  The  descendants  of  this  good  old  man 
still  inherit  the  promise  and  the  blessing  of  the  righteous : 
all  of  that  name  have  had,  and  still  continue  to  have,  not 
only  an  abundance  of  bread  for  themselves,  but  also  to  spare 
to  the  poor  and  needy. 

Elisha  Putnam,  the  father  of  Gen.  Rufus,  was  the  third 
son  of  Edward  Putnam,  and  his  wife,  Mary  Hall,  was  born 
in  Salem,  Massachusetts,  in  1685.  Here  he  continued  to 
live  until  manhood,  and  married  Susannah  Fuller,  the  daugh- 
ter of  Jonathan  Fuller,  of  Danvers.  About  the  year  1725, 
when  forty  years  old,  he  moved,  with  his  wife  and  family  of 
three  children,  to  the  town  of  Sutton,  Worcester  county, 
Massachusetts,  where  he  purchased  a  fine  farm,  and  pursued 
the  occupation  of  a  tiller  of  the  earth,  as  all  his  fathers  had 
done.  After  his  removal  to  Sutton,  three  other  sons  were 
born  to  him ;  of  these  Rufus  was  the  youngest,  and  born  the 
9th  of  April,  1738. 

The  Rev.  Dr.  Hall,  in  his  diary,  says,  that  "  Deacon  Elisha 
Putnam  was  a  very  useful  man  in  the  civil  and  ecclesiastical 
concerns  of  the  place.  He  was  for  several  years  deacon 
of  the  church,  town  clerk,  town  treasurer,  and  representative 
in  the  General  Court,  or  Colonial  Assembly  of  Massachusetts. 
He  died  in  June,  1745,  in  the  joyful  hope  of  the  glory  of 
God." 

Maj.  Gen.  Israel  Putnam  was  also  a  descendant  of 
Thomas,  the  oldest  son  of  John,  in  the  fourth  generation, 
by  Joseph,  the  third  son  of  Thomas.  Joseph  had  three  sons, 
William,  Daniel  and  Israel.     The  latter  was  born  in  1717, 


RUFUS    PUTNAM.  15 

and  was  the  cousin  of  Elisha  Putnam,  the  father  of  Gen. 
Rufus.  At  the  death  of  his  father,  Mr.  Putnam  was  seven 
years  old.  He  was  now  sent  to  live  with  his  maternal  grand- 
father in  Danvers,  and  remained  in  his  family  until  Septem- 
ber, 1747.  During  this  period  he  was  sent  to  school  a  portion 
of  the  time,  and  made  some  progress  in  reading.  In  the 
course  of  this  year,  his  mother  married  Capt.  John  Sadler, 
of  Upton,  Massachusetts,  and  he  went  to  live  with  him,  and 
remained  under  his  roof  until  his  death,  in  1753.  His  mother 
was  now  again  a  widow. 

In  1752,  when  fourteen  years  of  age,  Rufus  made  choice 
of  his  brother-in-law,  Jonathan  Dudley,  of  Sutton,  as  his 
guardian,  and  the  certificate  is  signed  by  the  Hon.  Joseph 
Wilder,  judge  of  probate  for  Worcester  county.  During  the 
time  of  his  residence  with  his  step-father,  all  opportunities 
for  instruction  were  denied  him.  Capt.  Sadler  was  very 
illiterate  himself,  and  thought  books  and  learning  of  very 
little  use,  and  not  worth  the  time  bestowed  on  their  acquire- 
ment. The  world  is  not  destitute  of  such  men  to  this  day ; 
they  think  and  act  as  if  they  believed  that  the  body  was  the 
only  part  to  be  provided  for,  and  that  the  mind  needed  no 
instruction,  or  food  for  its  growth,  except  what  is  acquired 
by  natural  observation  and  instinct.  But  young  Putnam 
felt  that  he  had  another  appetite  to  supply,  besides  that  of 
the  body;  that  his  mind  craved  food  and  instruction,  and 
would  not  be  appeased  without  it.  Notwithstanding  the 
ridicule  and  obstructions  thrown  in  his  way  by  his  step-father, 
he  sought  every  opportunity  for  study,  and  examination  of 
the  books  that  fell  in  his  way.  Having  no  school  books  of 
his  own,  and  this  parsimonious  man  refusing  to  buy  them, 
he  soon  fell  upon  a  plan  to  get  them  himself.  Capt. 
Sadler  kept  a  kind  of  public  house,  at  which  travelers  some- 
times called  for  refreshment.  By  waiting  diligently  upon 
diem,  they  sometimes  gave  him  a  few  pence.     These  he 


16  ItUFUS    PUTNAM. 

carefully  laid  by,  until  he  could  purchase  some  powder  and 
shot :  with  this  ammunition  and  an  old  shot  gun,  he  killed 
partridges,  or  pheasants,  and  sold  from  time  to  time  until 
the  proceeds  bought  him  a  spelling  book  and  an  arithmetic. 
With  these  two  invaluable  articles,  the  foundation  of  all, 
even  the  most  profound  learning,  he  soon  made  considerable 
progress  in  the  rudiments  of  education,  without  any  teacher 
but  his  own  patient  ingenuity.  In  the  same  way  he  learned 
to  write,  and  make  figures  in  a  legible  manner,  progressing 
in  a  short  time  to  the  rule  of  three,  guided  only  by  the 
directions  laid  down  in  the  book.  How  delightful  must  have 
been  his  sensations  when  he  could  put  his  own  thoughts  into 
tangible  sentences  on  paper,  and  understand  the  rules  of 
calculation,  so  important  in  all  the  concerns  of  life. 

In  March,  1754,  when  nearly  sixteen  years  old,  he  was 
bound  as  an  apprentice  to  the  mill-wright  trade,  under 
Daniel  Mathews,  of  Brookfield.  He  was  a  man  who  had 
nearly  the  same  opinion  of  the  inutility  of  learning,  as  Mr. 
Sadler,  and  entirely  neglected  to  send  his  apprentice  to 
school.  He,  however,  was  more  favorable  in  one  respect, 
as  he  did  not  refuse  him  the  use  of  candles  for  light,  when 
pursuing  his  studies  in  the  long  winter  evenings.  His  atten- 
tion was  chiefly  directed  to  the  acquisition  of  arithmetic, 
geography  and  history ;  while  orthography,  etymology,  and 
the  rules  of  grammar  were  neglected.  Having  no  books  in 
these  branches  and  no  one  to  teach  him,  his  attention  was 
chiefly  directed  to  that  which  would  be  more  immediately 
useful  in  the  common  affairs  of  life.  In  penmanship  he 
had  no  aid  from  those  nice  copperplate  engravings,  pub- 
lished in  after  years,  nor  any  one  to  guide  him  in  the  art  of 
neat  handwriting,  so  that  those  two  important  branches, 
spelling  correctly,  and  writing  handsomely,  did  not  receive 
that  attention  they  otherwise  would  have  done,  and  left  him 
during  all  his  future  life  to  regret  his  deficiencies  in  these 


RUFUS    PUTNAM.  17 

respects.  Could  he  have  looked  into  futurity,  or  had  the 
least  intimation  of  the  public  stations  of  trust  and  honor 
which  he  was  destined  by  Providence  to  fill  in  manhood,  he 
would  doubtless  have  been  better  prepared  for  their  arduous 
duties.  The  greatest  wonder  of  all  is,  that  with  the  discour- 
agements and  privations  which  environed  him,  he  had  the 
fortitude  and  perseverance  to  overcome  these  obstacles,  and 
acquire  so  much  really  useful  learning  as  he  did.  Ninety- 
nine  boys  in  a  hundred  would  never  have  made  the  attempt, 
but  have  lived  and  died  in  ignorance. 

During  this  portion  of  his  life,  from  sixteen  to  nineteen 
years,  he  was  busily  occupied  under  Daniel  Mathews,  in 
acquiring  the  practical  art  of  the  mill-wright,  and  in  working 
on  his  farm.  It  required  some  knowledge  of  geometry,  to 
form  perfect  circles,  divide  them  into  numerous  equal  por- 
tions, and  lay  out  the  exact  angles  necessary  in  the  frame- 
work of  the  mill ;  thus  gradually  enlarging  his  knowledge 
of  mathematics,  for  which  he  had  naturally  an  ardent  attach- 
ment, and  a  mind  well  fitted  to  comprehend.  During  this 
time  his  physical  frame  grew  full  as  rapidly  as  his  mind,  so 
that  when  he  was  eighteen  years  old,  he  possessed  the 
brawny  limbs,  the  muscular  power,  and  the  full  stature  of  a 
man  sLx  feet  high.  In  all  athletic  exercises,  he  was  renowned 
for  his  great  strength  and  activity ;  and  thus  eminently  fitted 
for  the  fatigues  and  privations  of  the  military  life  he  was 
destined  so  early  to  enter. 

The  war  between  Great  Britain  and  France,  in  which 
the  colonies  were  much  more  deeply  interested  than  the 
mother  country,  commenced  in  the  year  1754,  when  he 
entered  on  his  apprenticeship.  The  accounts  of  the  several 
battles,  the  defeat  of  Gen.  Braddock,  and  the  exploits  of  his 
martial  relative,  Capt.  Israel  Putnam,  no  doubt  filled  his 
youthful  mind  with  ardor,  and  led  him  while  yet  only  in  his 
nineteenth  year  to  enlist  as  a  private  soldier,  in  the  company 


18  RUFUS    PUTNAM. 

of  Capt.  Ebcnezer  Learned,  consisting  of  one  hundred  men, 
many  of  whom  must  have  been  his  acquaintances  or  asso- 
ciates. The  term  of  service  was  a  little  short  of  a  year, 
commencing  the  15th  of  March,  1757,  and  ending  the  2d 
day  of  February,  1758.  By  the  30th  of  April  the  de- 
tachment was  ready  for  marching,  and  that  day  left  Brook- 
field,  on  their  route  for  Kinderhook,  on  the  Hudson  river, 
about  eighteen  miles  below  Albany,  which  place  they  reached 
on  the  6th  of  May. 

In  this  and  his  subsequent  campaign,  he  turned  the  art  of 
writing,  which  he  had  with  so  much  difficulty  acquired,  to  a 
useful  purpose,  by  keeping  a  regular  journal  of  the  events 
which  took  place ;  and  without  this  precaution  would  have 
been  lost  or  forgotten.  He  remarks  that  Capt.  Learned 
prayed  regularly,  night  and  morning,  with  his  men,  and  on 
the  Sabbath  read  a  sermon  in  addition — a  proof  of  the  gen- 
eral prevalence  of  piety  amongst  the  New  England  people, 
and  which  if  more  common  in  this  day,  would  suppress  much 
of  the  profanity  and  wickedness  so  universal  amongst  the 
soldiery  of  modern  times.  On  the  18th  of  May,  they  left 
Kinderhook,  and  marched  the  same  day  to  Greenbush, 
opposite  the  town  of  Albany. 

On  the  21st  of  May,  the  company  moved  to  Seaghticoke, 
a  Dutch  settlement  on  the  banks  of  the  Hoosack  river,  three 
miles  from  the  Hudson.  It  was  deserted  by  the  inhabitants 
on  account  of  the  Indians,  and  now  lies  in  the  north-wTesterly 
corner  of  Renssellaer  county. 

On  the  9th  of  June,  the  detachment  joined  Col.  Fry's 
regiment,  at  Stillwater,  a  spot  subsequently  famous  for  the  bat- 
tles at  Bemis'  Heights,  which  turned  the  tide  of  Burgoyne's 
success,  and  finally  led  to  his  surrender.  On  the  11th  they 
marched  to  Saratoga,  a  place  still  more  celebrated  in  military 
history,  for  the  conquest  of  his  army,  thirty  years  after  this 
time,  in  which  Mr.  Putnam  acted  a  conspicuous  part. 


RUFUS    PUTNAM.  19 

On  the  14th  of  this  month,  Fry's  regiment,  composed  of 
seventeen  companies  of  provincials,  decamped,  and  on  the 
following  day  reached  Fort  Edward.  This  celebrated  mili- 
tary post,  so  often  noticed  in  the  events  of  the  old  French 
war,  was  built  two  years  before  this  time,  and  was  now  in 
the  pride  of  its  strength.  It  stood  on  the  east  or  left  bank  of 
the  Hudson  river,  about  fifty-two  miles  above  Albany,  and 
was  constructed  by  a  body  of  colonial  troops  under  Gen. 
Lyman,  and  named  after  Edward,  Duke  of  York,  the  eldest 
son  of  King  George  the  Second,  of  England.  It  is  thus 
described  in  Mr.  Putnam's  journal :  "  The  river  washed  one 
side  of  its  walls.  The  form  was  somewhat  irregular ;  having 
two  bastions  and  two  half  bastions.  The  walls  were  high 
and  thick,  composed  of  hewed  timber — a  broad  rampart,  with 
casements,  or  bomb-proofs — a  deep  ditch  with  a  draw-bridge — 
a  covered  way,  glacis,  &c."  In  an  after  note,  he  says,  "  I 
have  been  particular  in  this  description,  because  in  1777, 
there  was  by  no  means  so  great  an  appearance  of  there  hav- 
ing been  a  fortification  here  as  we  find  in  the  ancient 
works  at  Marietta  and  other  parts  of  the  Ohio  country." 
It  stood  at  the  head  of  the  carrying  place,  between  the  Hud- 
son and  Lake  George,  and  also  Wood  creek,  a  tributary  of 
Lake  Champlain.  The  village  of  Fort  Edward  stands  near 
the  site  of  the  old  fort,  and  serves  to  perpetuate  its  name. 
The  tragical  fate  of  Miss  McCrea  happened  in  this  vicinity 
in  1777.  White  Hall,  at  the  head  of  the  Lake,  the  port  from 
which  steamboats  now  run  to  St.  John,  in  Canada,  was,  in 
the  Revolutionary  war,  called  Skenesborough ;  and  was 
named  after  Maj.  Skene,  presently  noticed  by  Mr.  Putnam 
in  his  journal. 

Being  determined  to  see  as  much  as  possible  of  the  adven- 
tures and  hardships  of  a  military  life,  he  joined  the  corps  of 
Rangers,  as  a  volunteer,  and  on  the  8th  of  July,  marched  on 
a   scout   under   Lieut.    Collins,   with    twenty-two    men,    to 


20  RUFUS    PUTNAM. 

reconnoitre  South  Bay,  the  southerly  extremity  of  Lake 
Champlain,  distant  about  twenty-five  miles  from  Fort  Ed- 
ward. On  the  9th,  having  approached,  as  they  thought,  near 
the  bay,  the  main  party  was  halted,  and  three  men,  of  whom 
Mr.  Putnam  was  one,  sent  forward  to  learn  its  situation. 
Supposing  it  would  occupy  but  a  few  hours,  they  left  their 
blankets  and  provisions  with  the  men  that  remained  in  camp. 
It  proved  to  be  much  further  than  they  had  anticipated,  and 
after  fulfilling  then  orders,  it  was  nearly  night  when  they  got 
back  to  the  encampment.  Much  to  their  vexation  and  disap- 
pointment, they  found  that  the  lieutenant  and  his  men,  had 
left  the  ground,  carrying  with  them  their  blankets  and  pro- 
visions. It  seems  that  the  leader  had  taken  alarm  at  their 
long  absence,  supposing  them  either  killed  or  captured  by 
the  Indians,  and  had  hastily  retreated  in  confusion.  The 
deserted  Rangers  fired  then  guns,  to  give  notice  of  their 
return,  but  no  answering  signal  was  heard.  Two  nights 
were  thus  spent  in  the  woods,  exposed,  without  their  blankets, 
to  the  annoyance  of  gnats  and  musquitoes,  which  swarmed 
in  vast  numbers  over  this  humid  region.  The  dress  of  the 
Rangers  was  similar  to  that  of  the  Indians,  leaving  their 
thighs  bare,  and  exposed  to  their  attacks.  They  reached 
Fort  Edward  on  the  11th,  having  been  forty-eight  hours 
without  food,  thus  realizing  a  little  foretaste  of  a  ranger's 
life.  Lieut.  Collins  did  not  get  in  until  the  following 
day,  and  confessed  that  he  heard  their  signal  guns,  but 
supposed  them  fired  by  the  Indians.  He,  however,  by  vari- 
ous excuses,  pacified  Mr.  Putnam  and  his  comrades ;  yet  he 
remarks  on  the  transaction,  "  It  was  extremely  unsoldier- 
like  to  leave  us  in  the  woods  in  the  manner  he  did.  If  our 
long  absence  gave  cause  of  alarm,  he  ought  to  have  with- 
drawn but  a  short  distance,  placed  himself  in  ambush,  and 
posted  two  men  under  cover  to  watch  for  our  return,  or 
give  notice  of  the  approach  of  the  enemy." 


RUFUS    PUTNAM.  21 

/ 
On  the  23d  of  July,  about  eight  o'clock  in  the  morning,  a 
large  party  of  Indians  fired  on  the  Carpenters',  or  Mechanics' 
Guard,  within  half  a  mile  of  the  fort,  and  killed  thirteen 
men,  with  one  missing.  This  was  the  first  view  he  had  of 
Indian  butchery;  and  says,  "It  was  not  very  agreeable  to 
the  feelings  of  a  young  soldier,  and  I  think  there  are  few 
who  can  look  on  such  scenes  with  indifference."  In  the 
afternoon,  two  hundred  and  fifty  men,  under  Capt.  Israel 
Putnam,  were  sent  out  in  pursuit.  They  followed  the  trail 
until  sunset,  when  the  main  body  was  halted,  and  three 
men,  of  whom  Mr.  Putnam  was  one,  sent  forward  a  mile  or 
more,  with  orders  to  secrete  themselves  near  the  trail  until 
after  dark,  watching  closely  for  any  scout  that  might  be 
sent  back,  "for,"  said  the  captain  of  the  Rangers,  "if  they 
do  not  embark  to-night  in  their  boats,  they  will  send  a  party 
back  to  see  if  they  are  pursued."  They  went  as  ordered, 
but  made  no  discovery.  He  remarks,  "It  was  a  maxim  I 
treasured  up  in  my  mind,  as  applicable,  especially  in  the 
woods,  whether  you  are  pursuing,  or  are  pursued  by  the 
enemy,"  and  was  the  beginning  of  his  military  knowledge. 

Capture  of  Fort  William  Henry. 

The  Marquis  de  Montcalm,  who  commanded  the  French 
forces  in  Canada,  was  a  man  of  intelligence  and  vast  enter- 
prise. After  one  or  two  ineffectual  attempts  to  surprise  the 
fort  without  the  trouble  of  a  regular  siege,  he  finally  con- 
cluded to  collect  all  the  troops  in  his  power,  and  set  about 
the  work  by  regular  approaches.  This  fort  stood  near  the 
head  of  Lake  George,  distant  fourteen  miles  from  Fort  Ed- 
ward, and  seventy  from  Albany,  and  was  built  by  Gen. 
Johnson  in  1755,  who  named  it  after  one  of  the  princes  of 
the  reigning  family.  It  was  a  square  work,  with  four  bas- 
tions.    The  walls  were  made  of  timber,  filled  in  with  earth 


22  RUFUS    PUTNAM. 

with  a  ditch  on  the  outbade ;  and  was  able,  for  a  time,  to  re- 
sist a  cannonade  or  bombardment.  Having  arranged  his 
plan  of  operations,  Montcalm  came  up  the  lake  with  a  for- 
midable array  of  boats;  and  on  the  3d  of  August,  1757, 
landed  an  army  of  ten  thousand  men,  and  a  large  body  of 
Indians,  with  a  heavy  train  of  artillery ;  and  immediately 
commenced  the  siege.  Col.  Munroe,  who  commanded  the 
fort,  had  arrived  only  the  day  before,  with  his  regiment,  from 
Fort  Edward,  to  reinforce  the  garrison.  He  was  a  brave- 
man,  and  made  the  best  defense  in  his  power;  but  the 
troops  under  his  command  were  too  few  in  number,  to  hold 
out  long  against  so  formidable  an  attack.  Many  of  his  can- 
non burst,  and  the  ammunition  failed.  After  a  spirited  de- 
fense of  six  days,  a  capitulation  was  entered  into  for  the 
surrender  of  the  fort  and  troops,  on  the  9th  of  August. 
"About  half  a  mile  east  of  the  fort,  separated  from  it  by  a 
swamp  and  creek,  lay  a  body  of  fifteen  hundred  Provincials, 
encamped  within  a  low  breastwork  of  logs.  On  these  Mont- 
calm made  no  serious  attack ;  and  they  might  at  any  time 
have  made  their  escape,  by  forcing  their  way  through  the 
enemy  posted  in  that  quarter ;  but  the  next  morning  after 
the  surrender,  or  the  10th  of  August,  as  the  Provincials  were 
paraded,  to  march  to  Fort  Edward,  agreeably  to  capitula- 
tion, the  Indians  attacked  them,  and  a  horrid  butchery  en- 
sued. Those  who  escaped  with  their  lives  were  stripped 
almost  naked;  many  were  lost  in  the  woods,  whore  they 
wandered  several  days  without  food.  One  man,  in  particu- 
lar, was  out  ten  days;  and  there  is  reason  to  believe,  that 
some  perished,  especially  the  wounded.  The  number  mur- 
dered, and  missing,  was  some  hundreds. 

"Gen.  Webb  lay,  all  the  time  of  the  siege,  at  Fort  Ed- 
ward, with  not  less  than  four  thousand  men,  and  for  a  con- 
siderable part  of  the  time  with  a  larger  number,  by  the 
coming  up  of  the  New  York  militia.     He  was  informed, 


RUFUS    PUTNAM.  23 

every  day  of  the  siege,  by  an  express  from  Col.  Munroe, 
of  the  progress  of  affairs  at  the  lake,  and  knew  that  the 
enemy  had  made  an  attempt  on  the  fortified  camp  of  the  Pro- 
vincials. It  was  the  opinion  of  many  officers,  that  he  might. 
have  relieved  the  fort,  and  that  he  was  much  to  blame  for 
not  attempting  it.  The  general  opinion  amongst  the  sol- 
diers was,  that  he  was  a  coward;  for  he  took  no  care  to 
bury  the  men  butchered  in  the  manner  mentioned,  or  to  seek 
for  the  wounded,  should  there  be  any  living  among  the  dead. 
I  was  on  the  ground  a  short  time  after,  and  saw  the  dead 
bodies  as  much  neglected  as  if  they  had  been  wild  beasts." 
(Man.  Jour.)  He  remarks,  that  the  Provincials  lost  all 
confidence  in  Gen.  Webb,  and  many  of  them  left  the 
army,  and  returned  home.  He  was  himself,  at  one  time, 
being  under  great  excitement  at  the  dastardly  conduct  of 
Webb,  on  the  point  of  leaving,  but  was  providentially  pre- 
vented. 

On  the  8th  of  October,  the  campaign  being  closed  for  that 
year,  the  Provincials,  who  composed  the  corps  of  Rangers, 
were  discharged.  He,  however,  continued  to  do  camp  duty 
some  days  longer,  and  then  attached  himself  to  a  company 
of  artisans,  who  were  employed,  until  the  10th  of  Novem- 
ber, in  completing  the  defenses  of  Fort  Edward.  On  that 
day,  the  remnant  of  Col.  Frye's  regiment,  himself,  and  the 
larger  portion  of  his  men,  having  been  captured  at  Fort 
William  Henry,  marched  down  to  the  Half-moon,  a  post 
twelve  miles  above  Albany.  His  providentially  joining  the 
Rangers,  no  doubt,  saved  him  from  participating  in  this 
slaughter  and  captivity. 

On  the  18th  of  November,  three  hundred  and  sixty  men 
of  the  detachment  were  drafted  into  four  companies,  and 
ordered  to  different  posts  for  winter  quarters.  This  was  a 
vexatious  disappointment,  as  the  Provincials  expected  to  be 


24  KUFUS    PUTNAM. 

discharged  at  the  close  of  the  campaign,  although,  accord- 
ing to  their  enlistment,  they  were  to  serve  until  the  2d  day 
of  February,  1758. 

Capt.  Learned's  company,  to  which  Mr.  Putnam  be- 
longed, was  ordered  up  to  Stillwater,  on  the  east  side  of 
the  Hudson;  while  he  and  several  other  mechanics  were  de- 
tained and  employed  in  completing  the  king's  works  at  the 
Half-moon,  until  the  29th  of  December. 

The  1st  of  January,  1758,  was  celebrated  by  the  men  in 
great  festivity,  with  an  earnest  looking  forward  to  Candle- 
mas, or  2d  of  February,  as  the  period  of  their  release  from 
servitude. 

From  the  movements  of  the  commander  of  the  stockaded 
garrison,  Capt.  Skene,  afterward  major,  and  proprietor 
of  Skenesborough,  they  began  to  suspect  he  intended  to 
retain  them  in  service  beyond  the  time  of  their  enlistment. 
The  Provincials  were  quartered  in  huts  by  themselves,  a 
short  distance  from  the  post,  winch  was  guarded  by  a  com- 
pany of  British  regulars.  Having  decided  on  making  a 
push  for  home,  as  soon  as  they  considered  themselves  fairly 
at  liberty,  previous  arrangements  were  made  for  the  jour- 
ney, by  preparing  snow  shoes  for  each  man,  as  there  was 
no  possibility  of  marching  through  the  woods,  where  the 
snow  was  three  or  four  feet  deep,  without  this  ingeniously 
contrived  Indian  apparatus,  which  had  been  adopted  by  the 
New  Englanders  from  them.  Capt.  Learned,  who  had  just 
returned  from  a  furlough  to  Massachusetts,  when  made  ac- 
quainted with  the  design  of  his  men,  approved  of  their  plan, 
and  said  he  would  lead  them,  unless  he  could  procure  their 
regular  discharge.  Mr.  Putnam  observes  on  this  transac- 
tion, that  he  thought  well  of  the  captain  at  the  time,  but- 
had  since  learned,  that  for  an  officer  to  desert  his  post  is 
unpardo  liable. 

On  the  2d  of  February,  Capt.  Skene  ordered  the  Provin- 


RUFUS    PUTNAM.  25 

cials  into  the  fort,  and  read  a  letter  from  Gen.  Abercrombie, 
directing  him  to  persuade  the  Massachusetts  men  under  his 
command,  to  tarry  a  few  days,  until  he  could  hear  from  that 
government,  and  know  their  intentions  in  regard  to  them. 
To  this  they  replied,  that  he  is  a  good  soldier  who  serves 
his  full  time,  and  that  the  province  had  no  farther  concern 
with  them;  neither  would  they  remain  any  longer.  Capt. 
Skene  threatened  them  with  death  if  they  departed  without 
a  regular  discharge,  and  ordered  them  back  to  their  bar- 
racks. He,  however,  took  no  forcible  measures  to  detain 
them,  nor  did  he  search  their  huts  for  the  snow-shoes,  which 
they  took  the  precaution  to  secrete  under  the  snow.  Their 
huts  were  sheltered  by  a  high  bank,  out  of  sight  of  the  fort, 
which  screened  their  movements- from  observation. 

Firm  to  their  purpose,  about  three  o'clock  in  the  morning 
of  the  3d  of  February,  they  marched  off  as  silently  as  pos- 
sible, seventy  in  number,  under  the  command  of  Capt. 
Learned  and  Lieut.  Walker;  leaving  Lieut.  Brown,  and  a 
few  invalids,  who  did  not  choose  to  join  them.  After  leav- 
ing their  barracks,  they  had  a  level  piece  of  intervale,  bor- 
dering the  Hudson,  about  half  a  mile  wide  to  cross,  exposed 
to  the  artillery  of  the  fort,  had  they  been  discovered  by  the 
sentinels,  which  was  the  reason  of  their  departure  in  the 
night.  They  did  not  fear  any  opposition  from  the  men  in 
the  garrison  in  the  open  field,  as  they  outnumbered  them. 
As  to  provisions  for  the  march,  they  had  provided  as  well  as 
they  could,  by  saving  a  portion  of  their  daily  rations  for  a 
week  or  two  previous,  and  had  hoarded  up  in  this  way,  two 
or  three  days'  allowance.  The  distance  to  Hoosack  fort,  as 
it  was  called,  a  small  stockaded  garrison  belonging  to  Mas- 
sachusetts, was  thirty  miles,  and  was  allotted  for  two  days 
march.  The  snow  in  the  woods  was  deeper  than  expected, 
and  made  the  traveling  laborious  for  the  leading  men  of 
the  file,  while  those  who  followed  after  had  a  pretty  firm 


26  RUFUS    PUTNAM. 

path.  The  second  day  of  the  march  was  in  a  snow  storm; 
nevertheless,  they  bore  manfully  on,  directing  their  course 
for  Hoosack  river,  which  was  to  be  their  guide  to  the  fort; 
but  during  the  snow  storm  they  became  bewildered,  and  fall- 
ing on  a  westerly  branch,  instead  of  the  main  stream,  it  led 
them  far  out  of  their  course,  and  at  night  they  encamped 
without  reaching  their  desired  haven.  Two  turkeys  were 
killed  during  the  day,  which  aided  their  scanty  stock  of  food. 
On  the  third  day's  march,  they  decamped  very  early,  confi- 
dent of  reaching  the  fort  before  noon,  but  mid-day  passed 
by,  and  the  night  arrived  without  the  sight  of  it.  One  tur- 
key was  killed,  and  the  camp  formed  with  heavy  hearts; 
which  was  done  by  kindling  fires  against  a  fatten  tree,  and 
lying  down  on  the  snow  with  their  blankets,  in  the  open  air. 
Their  provision  was  now  nearly  spent,  and  they  were  led, 
reluctantly,  to  believe,  that  they  were  actually  lost  in  the 
woods.  Several  of  the  men,  from  the  extreme  severity  of 
the  weather,  had  frozen  their  feet ;  and  one  had  lost  a  snow 
shoe  by  breaking  through  the  ice. 

On  the  fourth  day  the  march  was  continued  up  the  stream 
until  noon,  when  they  concluded  to  alter  their  course.  This 
branch  of  the  Hoosack,  it  seems,  led  up  into  the  New 
Hampshire  grants,  afterward  Vermont,  where  the  town  of 
Bennington  was  subsequently  built.  The  direction  of  the 
march,  by  the  advice  of  Capt.  Learned,  was  now  about 
south-east,  over  a  hilly  broken  region,  and  the  sun  went 
down  as  they  reached  the  top  of  a  high  mountain,  which 
appeared  to  be  the  water  shed,  or  dividing  ridge  between 
the  streams  which  fell  into  the  Hudson  and  Connecticut 
rivers.  The  weather  was  excessively  cold,  and  the  snow 
five  feet  deep.  On  the  morning  of  the  fifth  day,  after  a 
very  uncomfortable  night,  thirty  of  the  men,  Mr.  Putnam 
being  one  of  them,  breakfasted  on  a  small  turkey,  without 
salt  or  bread.    After  traveling  about  five  miles  they  fell  on  a 


RUFUS    PUTNAM.  27 

small  branch,  running  south-east,  down  which  they  followed 
until  several  tributaries  had  enlarged  it,  by  night,  to  a  con- 
siderable river.  All  this  day  they  had  no  food  but  the  buds 
of  the  beech  trees,  and  a  few  bush  cranberries.  At  night 
they  encamped,  weary  and  faint,  but  not  disheartened. 
The  sixth  day's  march  was  continued  along  the  course  of 
the  river  discovered  the  day  before,  which  none  of  them 
knew  the  name  of,  in  a  broken,  hilly  region,  not  very  favor- 
able to  the  point  of  compass  they  wished  to  follow.  Tne 
weather  was  cold  and  stormy,  while  the  men  were  so  feeble 
and  lame  from  frozen  feet,  that  only  a  few  were  able  to 
lead  the  trail,  and  break  the  path  in  the  snow.  By  march- 
ing on  the  frozen  river,  the  lame  men  found  a  smooth  path, 
or  it  is  probable  some  of  them  would  have  perished.  At 
night  they  encamped  by  tens  in  a  mess.  As  it  happened  they 
had  with  them  one  dog,  and  only  one.  He  was  large  and 
fat.  At  night  it  was  concluded  to  kill  him  for  supper.  This 
was  done,  and  his  body  divided  into  seven  portions,  or  one 
part  to  every  ten  men,  the  entrails  falling  to  the  butcher  as 
his  fee ;  and  as  he  belonged  to  Mr.  Putnam's  mess,  they 
made  their  supper  on  the  fat.  On  the  morning  of  the  sev- 
enth day,  his  men  breakfasted  on  one  of  the  feet,  and  a 
hind  leg  cut  off  at  the  gambrel  joint,  which  being  pounded 
and  roasted  in  the  embers,  so  as  to  separate  the  bones  of 
the  foot,  made  quite  a  palatable  viand  to  a  hungry  stomach. 
That  day  the  party  confined  their  march  to  the  river,  and 
about  noon  came  to  a  spot  where  some  trees  had  been 
recently  cut  for  some  shingles.  This  was  the  first  sign  of 
inhabitants  they  had  seen,  and  it  revived  their  drooping 
spirits.  At  sunset  one  of  the  men  noticed  a  small  stream 
putting  in  on  the  left  bank,  which  he  recognized  as  Pelham 
brook,  and  that  Hawk's  fort,  on  Dcerfield  river,  was  not 
more  than  three  miles  distant.  This  latter  river  is  a  branch 
of  the  Connecticut. 


28  RUFUS    PUTNAM. 

Their  leader  now  ordered  two  men  to  go  forward  to  the 
fort,  and  make  provision  for  the  arrival  of  the  party  in  the 
morning,  which  was  a  wise  measure,  and  directed  the  most 
active  men  to  make  fires  for  the  more  feeble  and  lame  ones, 
as  they  came  up,  which  happily  they  all  did  by  dark.  That 
night  Putnam's  mess  supped  on  the  thigh  bone  of  the  dog, 
made  into  soup,  with  a  small  bit  of  pork  and  a  little  ginger, 
which  made  a  very  palatable  dish.  With  respect  to  the 
flesh  of  a  dog,  he  observes,  "since  the  experience  of  that 
day,  I  have  believed  it  to  be  very  good  meat,  and  could  eat 
it  at  any  time  without  disgust."  This  goes  to  confirm  the 
experience  of  Lewis  and  Clark's  men  in  their  journey  over 
the  Rocky  mountains,  who  lived  on  it  for  weeks,  and  pre- 
ferred it  to  any  other  meat. 

On  the  eighth  day's  march,  which  was  the  10th  of  Feb- 
ruary, early  in  the  forenoon,  they  met  some  men  from  the 
fort,  coming  to  their  relief  with  slices  of  bread  and  meat,  to 
appease  their  appetites  and  enable  them  to  reach  the  post, 
where  they  were  received  with  great  kindness.  Many  of 
the  men  were  badly  frozen,  and  nearly  exhausted  with 
hunger.  As  a  proof  of  the  vigor  of  his  frame,  Mr.  Putnam 
carried  the  pack  of  a  sick  man  in  addition  to  his  own,  and 
was  always  one  of  the  leaders  in  breaking  the  path ; 
although  he  felt  the  cravings  of  hunger,  yet  never  failed  in 
vigor  or  activity.  One  cause  of  this  he  attributes  to  the 
use  of  a  little  honey,  which  one  of  his  mess  had  in  a  bottle, 
about  a  pound  weight.  Into  this  honey  bottle,  each  man 
dipped  the  end  of  a  rod  and  put  to  his  mouth,  and  not  like 
Jonathan  into  a  lunvy  comb. 

On  tin*  15th  of  February,  he  arrived  at  his  former  home, 
very  thankful  for  his  preservation  amidst  so  many  dangers. 
Capt.  Learned  was  much  censured  for  his  conduct,  and 
was  not  again  commissioned  during  the  war. 

After  passing  the  remainder  of  the  winter  at  home,  and 


RUFUS    PUTNAM.  29 

forgetting  the  sufferings  of  the  last  campaign,  he  again 
enlisted  in  the  provincial  service,  for  another  tour  of 
duty,  in  Capt.  Joseph  Whitcomb's  company,  and  Col.  Rug- 
gles'  regiment.  The  war,  thus  far,  had  been  a  continued 
scene  of  disasters,  and  disgrace  to  the  crown;  one  army 
after  another  had  been  defeated  or  captured,  and  the  French 
were  in  a  fair  way  of  overrunning  the  British  possessions  in 
America;  and  although  the  number  of  inhabitants  in  the 
Canadas  was  not  more  than  one  quarter  as  great  as  that  of 
the  colonies,  yet  their  military  commanders  were  much 
more  able  and  energetic  than  the  British,*  and  carried  con- 
quest and  victory  wherever  they  turned  their  arms. 

The  regiment  to  which  he  was  attached,  rendezvoused  at 
Northampton,  in  Massachusetts,  and  marched  for  Albany 
on  the  3d  of  June.  On  the  6th,  they  passed  Pantoosac 
fort,  a  small  post  on  the  Hoosack  river,  then  within  the 
boundaries  of  the  province  of  Massachusetts.  This  was 
the  station  that  Capt.  Learned  expected  to  reach  on  the 
second  day  after  his  unmilitary  and  disastrous  desertion  of 
his  post  at  Stillwater,  on  the  2d  of  February.  On  the  8th, 
the  regiment  arrived  at  Greenbush,  opposite  to  Albany. 
"From  Northampton  street  to  this  place  was  through  a 
wilderness,  with  but  one  house  in  the  whole  distance,  except 
the  little  fort  above  mentioned."  This  was  in  the  year 
1758;  since  that  time  vast  changes  have  taken  place  in  this 
region,  and  the  railroad,  in  a  few  hours,  would  transport 
the  whole  regiment  over  the  distance  which  occupied  five 
days  of  steady  marching. 

On  the  12th  of  June,  he  was  detached  with  about  eighty 
other  artisans  from  the  regiment  under  Lieut.  Pool,  and 
ordered  on  to  the  head  of  Lake  George  to  erect  works,  in 
advance  of  the  army.  On  the  5th  of  July,  the  troops  being, 
assembled,  embarked  in  batteaux,  amounting  to  seventeen 
thousand  men,  under  the  command  of  Gen.  Abercrombie, 


30  RUFUS    PUTNAM. 

Lord  Howe,  the  second  in  command,  Gen.  Gage,  the  third, 
and  Col.  Bradstreet,  quarter-master-general.  The  com- 
mander-in-chief was  an  old  man,  and  entirely  unfit  for  the 
post,  as  was  proved  by  the  result  of  the  campaign.  The 
army  had  but  little  respect  for  his  abilities;  while  on  the 
contrary,  Lord  Howe  was  their  idol,  and  in  him  they  placed 
their  utmost  confidence.  He  was  remarkably  easy  and 
affable  in  his  manners,  mixing  familiarly  with  the  mechan- 
ics and  common  soldiers,  inquiring  into  their  condition  and 
wants,  displaying  a  real  interest  in  their  welfare,  very 
different  from  those  generally  in  high  authority.  This  won 
the  regard  of  the  troops,  and  they  would  undergo  any  sac- 
rifice at  his  bidding.  Gen.  Gage  never  acquired  much  rep- 
utation as  a  commander,  and  the  furious  Bradstreet  was 
hated  by  all  the  army.  The  batteaux  moved  down  the 
lake  until  evening,  when  the  troops  landed  at  Sabbath- 
day  Point  for  refreshment,  and  then  rowed  all  night.  On 
the  Gth  they  disembarked  at  the  northern  extremity  of  Lake 
George,  in  two  divisions,  one  on  each  side  of  the  outlet. 
On  the  approach  of  the  division  on  the  right  bank,  a 
detachment  of  the  enemy  stationed  there,  retired  without 
firing  a  gun.  That  division  of  the  army  on  the  left  bank, 
was  under  the  command  of  Lord  Howe,  and  on  its  advance 
was  met  by  a  skirmishing  party  of  the  French,  who,  very 
unfortunately  for  the  British,  killed  Lord  Howe  in  the  early 
part  of  the  engagement.  His  death  struck  a  damp  on  the 
spirits  of  the  whole  army,  and  no  doubt  had  an  influence 
in  causing  the  defeat  which  followed.  Mr.  Putnam  was 
left  in  charge  of  the  boats,  but  soon  volunteered  his  service 
in  the  attack  on  the  works,  and  joined  his  regiment,  which 
was  posted  with  Col.  Lyman's,  of  Connecticut,  on  the  west 
of  the  mills,  and  was  busily  employed  in  erecting  a  breast- 
work. The  attack  on  the  fort  at  Ticonderoga,  began  at 
twelve  o'clock,  and  was  continued  without  intermission  for 


RUFUS    PUTNAM.  31 

several  hours,  without  making  any  impression.  At  length 
the  ammunition  of  the  regular  troops  was  exhausted,  and 
a  call  was  made  on  the  Provincials  to  forward  them  a  sup- 
ply. Mr.  Putnam  again  volunteered  in  this  service.  When 
they  approached  the  scene  of  action,  they  found  that  the 
attacked  troops  had  been  effectually  repulsed  in  their 
attempt  to  storm  the  enemy's  lines,  but  did  not  consider  it 
a  total  defeat,  as  it  finally  proved  to  be.  Col.  Ruggles' 
regiment  remained  in  their  breast-work  until  midnight 
unmolested,  and  then  retreated  to  the  shore  of  the  lake, 
where  they  had  landed  on  the  6th.  On  the  morning  of  the 
9th,  Ruggles  found  his  regiment  in  the  rear  of  the  army, 
which  had  retreated  in  the  night,  leaving  them  with  the 
Rangers  of  the  other  regiment  of  Provincials  near  the 
French  lines.  In  the  forenoon  of  that  day,  all  the  troops 
embarked  and  returned  to  the  south  end  of  the  lake,  closing 
Gen.  Abercrombie's  expedition,  which  commenced  with  such 
high  hopes,  under  a  cloud  of  disgrace,  and  a  loss  of  fifteen 
hundred  men,  in  killed  and  wounded.  Ticonderoga  fort 
was  protected  on  three  of  its  sides  by  water,  and  on  the 
other  for  some  distance  in  front  extended  a  morass;  the 
remainder  was  fortified  with  a  breast-work,  eight  feet  high, 
and  planted  with  artillery.  In  addition  to  which  the  ground 
for  one  hundred  yards  in  front,  was  covered  with  abatis. 
After  reconnoitering  the  works,  the  engineer  sent  on  this 
important  duty,  was  so  stupid  as  to  report  to  the  commander 
that  they  might  be  carried  by  musketry.  The  difficulty  of 
advancing  artillery  over  the  morass  and  broken  ground  in 
front,  led  to  the  adopting  of  this  fatal  advice,  and  the  defeat 
of  the  army.  The  post  was  defended  by  about  four  thou- 
sand men,  and  although  their  actual  assailants  amounted 
to  twelve  or  fifteen  thousand,  and  the  attack  lasted  for  more 
than  four  hours,  yet  they  could  make  no  impression  on  the 
garrison.     The  loss  must  have  been  greater  than  actually 


32  RUFUS    PUTNAM. 

estimated,  as  twenty-five  hundred  stands  of  arms  were 
picked  up  by  the  French.  Mr.  Putnam  remarks  that  "  when 
he  subsequently  became  acquainted  with  the  strength  of 
the  works  and  the  mode  of  attack,  he  considered  it  the 
most  injudicious  and  wanton  sacrifice  of  men,  that  ever 
came  within  his  knowledge  or  reading." 

Nothing  further  of  an  offensive  nature  was  attempted  in 
that  quarter,  by  Abcrcrombie,  this  season.  A  fort  was  com- 
menced on  the  ground  occupied  by  the  fortified  camp  of  the 
Provincials,  in  1757,  during  the  siege  and  capture  of  Fort 
William  Henry,  which  was  called  Fort  George,  and  stood 
half  a  mile  east  of  that  unfortunate  garrison.  On  the  22d 
of  July,  the  regiment  to  which  he  belonged  was  ordered  to 
Fort  Edward,  and  the  men  employed  in  repairing  the  roads 
from  that  post  to  Albany,  until  the  29th  of  October,  when 
they  were  discharged. 

On  the  9th  of  November,  he  arrived  at  Sutton,  his  native 
place,  where  he  passed  the  winter.  On  this  campaign,  in 
after  life,  he  has  these  remarks  :  "  Thus  was  I  carried  through 
a  second  campaign,  enjoying  uninterrupted  health,  the  friend- 
ship of  my  officers,  and  never  charged  with  a  fault.  But, 
alas  !  in  my  journal,  I  cannot  find  any  acknowledgment  to 
my  divine  Benefactor  and  Preserver,  nor  do  I  recollect  that  1 
had  any  serious  reflections  on  the  subject."  This  is  in  accor- 
dance with  the  natural  heart,  but  when  it  becomes  touched 
with  the  influences  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  it  is  ready  and  wil- 
ling to  acknowledge  its  obligations  to  its  rightful  Lord  and 
Benefactor. 

On  the  2d  of  April,  1759,  he  decided  on  again  entering  the 
military  service,  and  enlisted  into  Capt.  John  Fibley's  com- 
pany, as  a  substitute  for  Moses  Leland,  who  had  been  drafted 
into  the  army,  but  did  not  wish  to  serve.  For  this  enlistment 
he  received  fourteen  pounds,  thirteen  shillings,  Massachusetts 
currency,  or  forty-five  dollars,  fifty  cents.     The  original  receipt 


RUFTJS    PUTNAM.  33 

yet  remains  in  the  Leland  family.  He  was  finally  transferred 
to  Capt.  William  Page's  company,  of  Ilardwick,  in  the  bat- 
talion of  Lieut.  Col.  Ingersol,  in  Col.  Ruggles'  regiment ;  and 
was  now  advanced  to  the  post  of  orderly  sergeant;  marching 
with  the  army  by  the  old  route,  to  the  south  end  of  Lake 
George. 

On  the  21st  of  July,  they  embarked  in  batteaux  under  the 
command  of  Gen.  Amherst,  "  a  sagacious,  humane  and  ex- 
perienced commander."  Mr.  Putnam  notices  his  kindness 
and  attention  to  the  welfare  of  the  common  soldiers,  as 
highly  commendable.  On  the  22d,  they  landed  at  the  outlet 
of  the  lake,  in  nearly  the  same  numbers,  as  of  last  year, 
without  meeting  with  any  opposition.  The  following  day 
they  took  possession  of  the  breastworks,  where  they  were  so 
signally  repulsed  the  year  before,  with  little  opposition, 
and  thinks  the  loss  of  so  many  lives  in  the  previous  attack, 
attributable  to  the  rashness  of  Col.  Bradstreet.  On  the 
24th,  they  began  to  open  their  trenches  for  a  regular  siege 
and  bombardment  of  Fort  Ticonderoga.  This  was  a  regu- 
lar, strongly  built,  stone  fort,  erected  by  the  French  in  1756. 
and  capable  of  resisting  any  common  attack.  The  French 
had  kept  up  a  regular  discharge  of  artillery,  since  the  23d, 
while  their  enemies  were  erecting  their  works  for  the  batte- 
ries. That  night,  before  any  serious  attack  had  been  made, 
the  garrison  silently  evacuated  the  fort,  and  embarked  on 
the  lake  for  Crown  Point,  a  strong  post,  ten  or  twelve  miles 
lower  down  on  the  west  side  of  Lake  Champlain.  About 
three  o  'clock  in  the  morning  of  the  27th  the  fort  blew  up, 
with  a  tremendous  explosion.  The  French  did  not  make  any 
resistance  at  Crown  Point,  but  proceeded  on  down  the  lake 
to  Montreal.  The  cause  of  their  sudden  desertion  of  these 
strong  posts,  was  the  news  of  General  Wolf's  approach  to 
Quebec,  so  that  no  aid  could  be  sent  them  from  below ;  and 

rather  than  be  captured  they  abandoned  their  positions. 
3 


34  RUFUS    PUTNAM. 

Thus  terminated  the  third  campaign,  in  which  Mr.  Putnam 
had  been  engaged,  with  the  total  demolition  of  the  French 
power  on  the  lakes  George  and  Champlain,  leading  to  then* 
final  expulsion  from  North  America.  This  was  a  glorious 
conquest  for  the  British  arms,  in  which  the  Provincials 
shared  largely ;  but  the  greater  good  to  them  was  the  check 
it  gave  to  the  incursions  of  the  savages,  who  for  more  than 
a  century  had  invaded  their  frontier,  assisted  and  encouraged 
with  supplies  of  arms  and  ammunition  from  the  French, 
plundering,  murdering,  and  carrying  into  captivity  their 
exposed  inhabitants,  from  Maine  to  Pennsylvania. 

As  the  army  was  about  to  leave  Ticonderoga  in  pursuit, 
greatly  to  his  disappointment  and  vexation,  he  was  ordered 
by  the  brigadier-general  to  remain  and  superintend  the 
building  of  a  saw-mill,  at  the  lower  falls  on  the  outlet  of 
Lake  George,  where  it  debouches  into  a  bay  of  Lake  Cham- 
plain.  After  the  mills  were  completed,  he  obtained  a  pass 
to  go  to  Crown  Point,  where  his  regiment  then  lay.  When 
he  arrived  there,  instead  of  going  into  the  lines,  he  was  or- 
dered by  Maj.  Skene,  the  superintendent  of  the  works  then 
building  for  the  enlargement  of  the  garrison,  to  labor  as  a 
carpenter  on  the  block-houses,  promising  him  the  full  wages 
for  such  work.  After  a  few  days  he  was  ordered  back  to 
oversee  the  operations  of  the  saw-mills,  and  retained  until 
the  1st  of  December,  some  months  after  the  discharge  of 
his  regiment.  The  engineer  of  the  army,  whose  name  is 
not  given,  when  he  was  finally  discharged,  would  not  allow 
him  the  dollar  a  day  as  had  been  promised  by  Col.  Robin- 
son, the  quartermaster-general,  but  turned  him  ofF  with 
fifteen  pence,  the  pay  of  a  private  soldier ;  putting,  no  doubt, 
the  extra  pay  justly  due  him  into  his  own  pocket. 

On  the  1st,  in  company  with  Col.  Miller,  Capt.  Tate  and 
others,  eleven  in  number,  he  embarked  on  Lake  George,  to 
go  up  to  the  southerly  end,  in  two  battcaux.     Expecting  to 


KUFUS    PUTNAM.  35 

reach  Fort  George  the  next  day,  they  took  but  little  pro- 
vision. But  the  wind  failing  them,  they  passed  the  night 
four  miles  north  of  Sabbath-day  Point,  a  noted  head-land. 
On  the  2d,  the  wind  arose  to  a  perfect  storm,  with  intense 
cold,  so  that  they  were  confined  to  the  shore,  and  could  not 
move  at  all.  On  the  3d,  their  provisions  were  expended. 
The  wind  and  cold  continued,  and  their  situation  was  be- 
coming alarming ;  but  in  rambling  along  the  shore  one  of 
the  men  found  an  old  provision  bag,  with  about  a  dozen 
pounds  of  salted  pork,  which,  with  some  damaged  flour, 
brought  by  Col.  Miller  to  feed  two  horses  he  had  on  board, 
made  into  dumplings,  served  well  for  that  day.  The  4th 
day  was  calm  and  they  again  embarked,  but  one  of  the  boats 
being  leaky,  the  ice  formed  so  thick  and  heavy  in  it,  that  it 
was  abandoned  and  the  whole  party  entered  the  single  boat. 
This  additional  burthen  loaded  her  down  within  two  or  three 
inches  of  the  top  of  her  sides,  and  the  least  agitation  of  the 
water  would  have  filled  her.  But,  providentially,  it  remained 
calm  all  day,  and  they  reached  the  fort  at  sunset  without 
any  accident.  From  thence  he  returned  to  Brookfield,  in 
Massachusetts,  on  the  16th  of  December. 

Disgusted  with  the  treatment  he  had  received  in  the  ser- 
vice, in  removing  him  from  the  duties  of  an  orderly  sergeant 
and  placing  him  among  the  artisans,  without  any  extra  pay 
for  his  labor,  he  concluded  not  to  engage  any  further  in  the 
army.  The  post  of  orderly  sergeant  is  well  calculated  to 
improve  the  soldier  in  a  knowledge  of  military  duty,  which 
appears  to  have  been  his  object  and  aim  that  he  might  finally 
be  promoted.  It  was  a  good  school  to  prepare  him  by  these 
trials,  for  the  life  intended  for  him  by  Providence.  Beginning 
thus  in  the  ranks,  when  he  finally  became  a  commander,  he 
knew  well  what  to  require  from  the  private  soldier.  Nearly 
all  the  famous  marshals  of  Napoleon  rose  to  this  distin- 
guished honor  from  privates,  solely  by  their  merit.     He  seems 


36  BUFUS    PUTNAM. 

early  to  have  acquired  the  respect  and  confidence  of  those 
under  his  command,  and  several  anecdotes  are  related  of 
their  implicit  obedience  to  his  orders. 

The  winter  of  1759  was  passed  in  New  Braintrce,  working 
on  a  small  farm  of  fifty  acres,  which  he  had  purchased 
from  the  avails  of  his  wages  and  bounty. 

In  March,  1760,  orders  were  issued  by  the  Provincial  Gov- 
ernment to  raise  troops  for  another  campaign.  At  the  first 
muster  of  the  militia  he  enrolled  himself  in  the  company  of 
that  town,  and  was  by  Capt.  Page,  presented  with  recruiting 
orders  from  Col.  Ruggles.  His  well  known  character  for 
bravery  and  soldierly  conduct,  enabled  him  to  recruit  very 
successfully.  While  occupied  in  this  service  he  received  a 
commission  as  ensign,  in  Col.  Willard's  regiment,  Ruggles 
having  been  promoted  to  a  brigadier.  On  the  2d  of  June 
he  left  recruiting  and  set  out  for  the  army,  taking  with  him 
one  of  the  men  as  a  waiter,  and  joined  his  company,  which 
had  marched  some  time  previous,  under  Capt.  Thomas  Be- 
man,  at  Ticonderoga,  on  the  18th.  Here  he  found  four  com- 
panies of  Provincials.  His  own  was  stationed  at  the  land- 
ing on  the  outlet  of  Lake  George,  where  they  remained  to 
the  end  of  the  campaign,  and  he  was  thus  deprived  of  the 
honor  of  partaking  in  the  fatigues  of  the  siege  and  capture 
of  the  garrison  at  Isle  au  Noix,  which  opened  the  way  for 
the  junction  of  the  three  British  armies  before  Montreal,  and 
caused  its  surrender  on  the  8th  of  September,  thus  com- 
pleting the  conquest  of  Canada.  On  the  10th  of  November 
his  company  was  discharged  at  Ticonderoga,  and  on  the 
20th  they  crossed  Lake  Champlain,  and  began  their  march 
through  the  wilderness,  by  way  of  Otter  creek,  to  Number 
Four,  on  the  Connecticut  river,  a  place  often  noticed  in  the 
early  history  of  the  country,  and  distant  eighty  miles  from 
the  lake  ;  which  place  they  reached  on  the  25th.  On  the  1st 
of  December  he  arrived  at  his  home  in  New  Braintree. 


KUFUS    PUTNAM.  37 

In  1761,  there  being  no  further  call  for  military  service,  he 
resumed  his  old  employment  of  building  mills  and  farming, 
which  he  followed  for  seven  or  eight  years.  After  which 
time,  to-the  period  of  the  Revolution,  he  was  engaged  in  prac- 
tical surveying  for  the  neighboring  landholders  in  that  and  the 
adjacent  towns.  This  art  he  acquired  under  the  direction  of 
Col.  Timothy  Dwight,  of  Northampton,  the  father  of  Presi- 
dent Dwight,  of  Yale  College.  The  book  chiefly,  and  perhaps 
only  studied,  was  Love's  Art  of  Surveying,  printed  in  Lon- 
don in  17G8,  and  now  in  the  family.  He  was  one  of  the 
best  writers  on  that  subject.  Geometry  was  acquired  from 
the  same  source,  to  which  he  also  added  the  study  of  navi- 
gation. His  own  natural  mechanical  cast  of  mind,  and 
habits  of  close  observation,  soon  enabled  him  to  practice  the 
art  of  surveying  with  great  accuracy  and  deserved  credit. 
Mr.  Putnam  was  a  practical,  matter-of-fact  man,  in  whatever 
branch  he  engaged.  Fust  a  mill-wright,  then  a  soldier,  next 
a  surveyor,  and  finally  an  engineer;  the  principles  of  all 
which  he  acquired  from  a  very  few  books,  with  but  little  in- 
struction, and  intent,  close  study  of  the  subject  before  him. 
When  a  soldier,  he  stored  his  mind  with  military  maxims, 
and  a  strict  observance  of  discipline,  which  enabled  him  in 
after  life  to  win  the  approbation  of  his  superiors,  and  the 
love  and  good  will  of  his  equals,  as  well  as  of  all  under  his 
charge. 

In  April,  1761,  he  was  married  to  Miss  Elizabeth  Ayers. 
daughter  of  William  Ayers,  Esq.,  of  Brookfielc1,  an  exten- 
sive landholder,  and  one  of  the  first  families  in  the  place. 
In  November  following  his  wife  died  in  childbed,  leaving  to 
the  sorrowing  father  a  little  son,  which  God  in  his  providence 
saw  fit  also  to  remove  the  following  year.  Nevertheless  he 
bore  these  privations  without  murmuring  against  his  Maker, 
and  was  enabled  to  ascribe  righteousness  to  the  Lord. 

In  January,   1765,  he  was  again  married  to  Miss  Persis 


38  RUFUS    PUTNAM. 

Rice,  daughter  of  Zebulon  Rice,  of  Westborough,  Massachu- 
setts, with  whom  he  lived  in  great  harmony  and  happiness 
more  than  fifty-five  years,  and  raised  a  numerous  family  of 
children.  After  this  marriage  he  settled  in  the  north  parish  of 
Brookfield,  on  a  small  farm  of  fifty  acres,  where  his  family 
resided  during  the  war,  until  the  year  1780,  when  he  pur- 
chased a  large  farm  and  capacious  dwelling-house  in  the 
town  of  Rutland.  It  was  one  of  those  confiscated  estates 
belonging  to  the  Tories,  who  had  deserted  their  country  and 
joined  in  league  with  the  enemy  for  the  subjugation  of  the 
Whigs.  However  we  may  now  consider  the  justice  of  the 
policy  pursued  by  our  forefathers  in  those  turbulent  days, 
there  is  no  doubt  they  considered  it  strictly  honest  and  right 
to  devote  to  the  use  of  the  country,  the  property  of  those 
who  had  thus  unnaturally  deserted  the  land  which  gave  them 
birth;  and  turned  their  hands,  like  parricides,  against  their 
own  fathers  and  brothers.  Many  enormities  were  then  prac- 
ticed by  the  Whigs  as  well  as  the  Tories,  under  the  excitement 
of  party  feelings,  which  time,  and  a  more  cool  consideration 
of  right  and  wrong,  leads  us  to  condemn. 

In  the  year  1772,  Gen.  Lyman,  one  of  the  Provincial 
officers,  returned  from  England,  where  he  had  been  detained 
several  years,  in  soliciting  the  British  government  for  a 
grant  of  land  to  the  colonial  officers  and  soldiers,  who  had 
served  in  the  late  war  against  France.  Soon  after  this,  a 
meeting  of  the  adventurers  was  notified  to  be  held  at  Hart- 
ford, Connecticut,  the  same  year.  At  this  meeting  the 
general  informed  them  that  an  order  was  passed  by  the 
king  in  council,  authorizing  the  governor  of  West  Florida 
to  grant  lands  in  that  province  in  tho  same  proportion  and 
manner  as  given  to  his  majesty's  regular  troops.  Soon 
after  the  war  was  closed,  in  the  year  17G3,  three  new  gov- 
ernments, or  provinces,  were  established  in  their  newly 
acquired  American  possessions,  called   by  the  names  of 


RUFUS    PUTNAM.  39 

Quebec,  East  Florida  and  West  Florida;  and  an  order  was 
passed  by  the  king  and  council,  giving  to  the  British  troops 
engaged  in  the  war,  grants  of  land  in  these  provinces ;  and 
the  governors  were  ordered  to  make  the  donations  in  the 
following  proportions,  of  any  unoccupied  tracts,  viz.:  To 
a  person  of  the  rank  of  a  field  officer,  five  thousand  acres; 
to  a  captain,  three  thousand  acres ;  to  a  subaltern  or  staff 
officer,  two  thousand  acres;  to  a  non-commissioned  officer, 
two  hundred  acres;  and  to  a  private  man,  fifty  acres. 
The  same  was  also  granted  to  the  officers  and  men  in  the 
navy ;  but  nothing  was  said  of  any  grant  to  the  Provincial 
officers  and  soldiers,  many  of  whom  had  served  during  the 
whole  war,  and  were  as  justly  entitled  to  the  benefit  as  the 
regular  troops.  But  the  crown  seems  always  to  have  felt  a 
coldness  and  want  of  regard  for  the  interests  of  the  colonists ; 
treating  them  much  more  like  menials  and  aliens  than  real 
subjects  and  children  of  the  realm.  One  reason  of  this 
might  have  been  their  great  distance  from  home,  and  the 
consideration  of  their  dissenting  and  Puritan  principles,  no 
way  in  accordance  with  the  established  religion  of  the  king- 
dom. It  was  with  reluctance  that  the  promise  was  made  to 
Gen.  Lyman,  or  they  would  not  have  been  so  long  in  grant- 
ing it,  and  even  then  he  brought  no  written  document  to 
substantiate  the  grant;  but  his  word  was  so  far  credited  that 
the  meeting  resolved  to  explore  the  lands,  and  appointed 
a  committee  for  that  purpose,  of  which  Mr.  Putnam  was 
one. 

On  the  10th  of  December  he  left  home  on  the  mission  to 
Florida,  passing  through  Brookline,  Connecticut,  to  accom- 
pany Col.  Israel  Putnam,  who  was  another  of  the  exploring 
committee.  They  took  shipping  at  Norwich,  and  arrived  at 
New  York  on  the  20th  of  the  month.  The  10th  of  January, 
1773,  they  sailed  from  the  city  on  board  the  sloop  Missis- 
sippi, chartered  by  the  associates  of  The  Military  Company 


40  RUFUS    PUTNAM. 

of  Adventurers,  as  the  company  was  styled.  The  exploring 
committee  consisted  of  Col.  Israel  Putnam,  Capt.  Enos,  Mr. 
Thaddeus  Lyman  and  Rufus  Putnam,  accompanied  by  Dan- 
iel Putnam,  a  son  of  the  colonel,  and  a  hired  man.  On  the 
30th  of  January  they  arrived  at  Cape  Nichola  Mole,  a 
port  in  the  north-west  part  of  the  island  of  Hispaniola. 
The  harbor  is  an  open  bay,  exposed  to  the  north  winds. 
The  town  contained  about  three  hundred  houses,  situated  in 
a  mountainous  portion  of  the  island,  with  no  plantations 
near  it.  He  gives  no  particulars  of  the  voyage,  from  the 
effects  of  sea  sickness.  Leaving  the  port,  they  sailed  to 
Montego  bay,  on  the  north  side  of  Jamaica;  and  the  9th 
took  their  departure  for  the  bay  of  Pensacola,  steering  a 
westerly  course.  On  the  11th  Mr.  Putnam  took  an  observa- 
tion of  the  latitude,  and  found  it  to  be  19°  10'  north.  On 
the  12th,  at  night,  they  narrowly  escaped  shipwreck,  by  run- 
ning on  to  a  low  sandy  island,  called  the  Grand  Command- 
ers. On  the  18th,  doubled  Cape  Antonio,  the  west  end  of 
Cuba,  and  steered  north-west.  From  the  21st  to  the  25th, 
the  weather  was  very  stormy,  and  on  the  latter  day  extremely 
cold  for  this  climate ;  and  when  he  returned  to  New  England, 
found  that  this  day  was  called  "  the  cold  Tuesday,"  showing 
the  extensive  range  of  this  great  depression  of  temperature. 
On  the  28th  they  had  soundings  at  forty -five  fathoms,  and 
soon  after  the  first  land  made  was  their  desired  port,  which 
was  rather  extraordinary  after  such  tempestuous  weather. 
On  the  1st  of  March  they  entered  the  bay  of  Pensacola,  and 
anchored  at  some  distance  from  the  town,  the  water  being 
very  shoal,  and  landed  from  their  boat.  Gov.  Chester 
and  his  council  treated  them  very  kindly,  but  no  order  for 
oTantinjr  lands  to  the  Provincials  had  yet  arrived.  This  was 
a  discouraging  circumstance,  but  the  hope  that  it  might  yet 
arrive,  and  a  proposal  being  made  of  granting  lands  to  the 
company  on  terms   already  within  the    governor's    power, 


RTTFUS    PUTNAM.  41 

induced  the  committee  to  decide  on  proceeding  to  reconnoi- 
ter  the  country  on  the  Mississippi,  and  make  such  surveys 
as  they  thought  proper.  For  this  purpose  Mr.  Putnam  was 
commissioned  by  Gov.  Chester,  as  a  deputy  surveyor  of  the 
province  of  West  Florida,  which  commission  is  now  in  the 
possession  of  his  son.  The  town  of  Pensacola,  he  says, 
contained  about  one  hundred  and  fifty  houses;  and  the 
country  around,  when  viewed  from  the  top  of  the  state- 
house,  is  covered  with  a  pitch  pine  forest.  The  surface  of 
the  earth  is  a  white  sand,  and  a  few  miles  back  bears  a 
scanty  supply  of  scrubby  oaks,  walnut  and  sassafras. 

On  the  18th  of  March  they  left  the  bay  of  Pensacola,  and 
steered  for  the  mouth  of  the  Mississippi.  As  they  approached 
the  father  of  American  rivers,  the  broad  surface  of  turbid, 
clay-colored,  fresh  water,  floating  for  many  leagues  on  the 
top  of  the  salt  water,  led  them  to  think  they  were  running 
on  to  a  sandy  beach.  However,  they  soon  discovered  their 
mistake,  and  continued  their  course  into  the  clay-colored 
water.  The  surface  was  fresh  for  several  feet  down,  but  on 
sinking  the  bucket  beyond  a  certain  depth  it  brought  up 
salt  water.  On  the  20th  of  March,  at  five  o'clock,  P.  M., 
the  sloop  anchored  just  off  the  mouth  of  the  river,  with  the 
block-house,  on  Mud  island,  bearing  north-west.  In  the 
night  a  gale  from  the  north  drove  the  sloop  from  her 
anchorage,  and  she  did  not  regain  her  position  under 
twenty-four  hours.  Soon  after  a  Spanish  schooner  anchored 
near  them,  and  sent  her  boat  on  board  asking  for  provisions. 
They  stated  that  forty  days  ago,  they  were  lying  at  anchor 
near  where  the  sloop  now  lay,  when  a  north  wind  drove 
them  to  sea  as  far  as  the  bay  of  Campeche,  and  they  had 
not  been  able  to  regain  their  lost  ground  until  now.  On 
this  he  remarks,  "  How  different  our  fortune  !  In  the  passage 
from  Cape  St.  Antonio  to  Pensacola,  in  crossing  the  same 
bay,  we  had  to  conflict  with  storms  and  contrary  winds  for 


42  RUFUS    PUTNAM. 

five  day?,  lying  at  the  mercy  of  the  currents  to  carry  us  we 
knew  not  whither ;  yet  Providence  conducted  us  directly  to 
our  desired  port!"  Thus  acknowledging  the  kindness  of 
that  God  in  whom  he  trusted  all  the  days  of  his  life. 

On  the  22d  of  March  they  entered  the  Mississippi  river, 
and  proceeded  up  about  ten  miles  from  the  mud  bank  at 
the  mouth  of  the  ship  channel,  called  the  French  Balize. 
On  the  bar  they  found  twelve  feet  of  water.  Here  they 
were  wind-bound  for  several  days,  and  Mr.  Putnam  occupied 
the  time  in  surveying  the  delta  at  the  mouth,  with  the  several 
outlets.  As  it  will  be  very  interesting  to  compare  this  survey 
with  the  present  condition  of  the  delta,  and  see  the  encroach- 
ment it  has  made  on  the  gulf  in  the  period  of  seventy- three 
years,  which  is  doubtless  very  great,  a  plan  of  that  survey 
is  annexed,  copied  from  the  one  made  by  Mr.  Putnam,  and 
preserved  among  his  manuscripts  relating  to  that  explora- 
tion. There  is  also  a  plan  of  the  Mississippi,  as  high  up 
as  they  ascended,  taken  by  measurement  of  each  day's 
progress,  and  the  meanders  of  the  river.  His  well  known 
accuracy  in  surveys  of  this  kind,  would  make  his  old  sketches 
a  valuable  acquisition  to  science,  to  show  the  changes  that 
have  taken  place  in  this  ever  wandering  stream. 

On  the  26th  they  passed  the  first  plantation,  thirty-five 
miles  from  the  mouth,  on  the  left  bank.  On  the  28th,  passed 
the  plantation  of  Mons.  de  la  Loira,  about  sixty-five  miles 
above  the  mouth,  which  is  the  largest  yet  seen,  and  contained 
three  hundred  and  twenty  acres,  French  measure,  and  sixteen 
negro  slaves.  This  man,  while  under  the  French  govern- 
ment, valued  his  possession  at  twelve  thousand  pounds ;  but 
now,  under  the  Spanish  rule,  was  not  worth  more  than  one- 
third  of  that  sum.  He  was  seventy-two  years  old,  and  said 
he  was  the  first  man  born  in  Louisiana.  He  also  stated 
that  the  river  at  that  place  never  rose  or  fell  over  eight  feet, 
and  commonly  only  five  or  six  feet,  but  that  higher  up  it  was 


RUFUS    PUTNAM.  43 

different.  Mr.  Putnam  observed  that  the  French  inhabitants 
looked  as  healthy  in  this  settlement  as  the  people  of  the 
northern  colonies.  On  the  30th  of  March,  they  passed  the 
English  reach,  and  came  to  against  a  high  bank,  three 
miles  below  New  Orleans,  where  they  found  several  English 
and  other  vessels,  waiting  for  trade ;  not  being  allowed  by 
the  Spaniards  to  lie  at,  or  opposite  the  town.  In  coming  up 
he  took  the  courses  and  estimated  the  distances,  making  from 
the  mud  bank  at  the  mouth,  eighty-five  and  three-fourth  miles 
to  the  English  reach,  and  from  thence  fourteen  miles  to 
New  Orleans,  which,  added  together,  make  ninety-nine  and 
three-fourth  miles.  Thus  far,  he  says,  the  river  was  about 
half  a  mile  wide,  with  a  gentle  current.  With  the  wind  in  a 
southerly  quarter,  a  vessel  could  make  the  passage  to  Eng- 
lish reach  in  a  short  time.  At  this  point  the  river  was  seven 
hundred  and  fifteen  yards  wide,  and  seventy  fathoms  deep. 
On  the  8th  of  April,  the  captain  of  the  sloop  refused  to  pro- 
ceed any  further  up  the  river,  and  the  committee  embarked 
in  a  small  bateau ;  making  use  of  oars,  and  a  sail  when  the 
wind  was  favorable.  He  still  continued,  as  they  proceeded, 
every  day,  to  take  the  courses  and  distances  as  before.  On 
the  11th,  they  reached  the  Acadia  settlement,  seventy-one 
miles  above  New  Orleans.  It  was  composed  of  the  inhabit- 
ants of  Nova  Scotia,  removed  to  this  place  by  the  English  in 
1754,  on  the  conquest  of  that  country.  They  passed  one  day 
with  the  Acadians,  and  were  treated  hospitably.  On  the 
13th,  passed  an  Indian  village  of  twenty  warriors.  On  the 
15th,  they  passed  the  river  Iberville,  so  called  in  the  treaty 
of  1763,  at  the  head  of  the  island  of  Orleans;  and  is  one 
hundred,  eighteen  and  a  half  miles  from  the  town  of  New 
Orleans.  It  is  a  small  outlet  of  the  Mississippi,  and  was  dry 
at  the  time  of  their  passage.  In  high  water  it  fills,  and  runs 
eastward,  discharging  its  waters,  with  the  river  Amite,  into 
the  lakes  Maurepas  and  Pontchartrain,  forming  the  island  of 


44  RUFUS    PUTNAM. 

Orleans.  This  outlet  was  subsequently  called  Bayou  Man- 
chac.  On  the  island  side  of  the  outlet  was  a  Spanish 
garrison,  with  an  officer  and  ten  men.  On  the  English  side, 
called  Manchac,  was  a  small  village,  with  good  gardens,  but 
no  soldiers.  A  mile  and  a  half  above,  was  a  village  of  Ala- 
bama Indians,  on  the  left  bank.  On  the  18th  they  passed 
Baton  Rouge,  fourteen  miles  above  Manchac.  On  the  19th, 
came  to  the  fort  and  church  of  Point  Coupee,  a  French  set- 
tlement, extending  about  seven  leagues  on  the  river,  and  said 
to  be  as  old,  or  older  than  New  Orleans.  On  the  20th,  passed 
a  village  of  the  Tonica  Indians,  of  about  forty  huts.  On  the 
22d  passed  the  outlet  of  the  Opelousas,  which  flows  into  the 
Gulf  of  Mexico;  at  that  time  it  was  about  forty  perches 
wide,  and  by  Mr.  Putnam's  measurement,  three  hundred,  fif- 
teen and  a  half  miles  from  the  balize,  or  mouth  of  the  river, 
and  ninety-seven  and  a  quarter  above  the  Iberville,  or  head 
of  the  island  of  Orleans.  The  mouth  of  the  Red  river  was 
then  three  miles  above  the  outlet  of  Opelousas,  and  ap- 
parently about  two  hundred  yards  wide.  On  the  23d,  passed 
Loftus'  Heights,  now  Fort  Adams.  The  next  day,  a  few 
miles  above  the  mouth  of  the  Homochitto  creek,  they  coasted  a 
curious  bend  in  the  river,  of  eleven  and  a  half  miles,  which 
at  the  isthmus  or  neck  was  only  forty-seven  yards  across; 
and  by  a  water  level  he  ascertained  the  fall  in  the  river  to  be 
two  and  a  half  feet  in  that  distance.  Their  average  progress 
against  the  stream  was  from  twelve  to  fourteen  miles  a  day. 
On  the  2Gth,  they  arrived  at  Fort  Rosalia,  at  the  Natchea, 
and  half  a  mile  below,  he  notes,  "  is  the  first  gravel  stones 
we  have  seen  on  the  shores  of  the  river."  Fort  Rosalia,  or 
rather  its  ruins,  was  seated  on  the  margin  of  an  elevated 
plain  or  bluff,  nearly  eighty  perches  from  the  river,  and  was 
approached  by  a  winding  road,  not  difficult  of  ascent.  It 
was  a  regular  heptagon,  capable  of  containing  four  or  five 
hundred  men,  built  by  the  French  in  171 4.     The  English, 


ItUFUS    PUTNAM.  45 

after  the  peace  of  1763,  kept  a  garrison  here  until  about  four 
years  before  this  visit;  since  which  the  barracks  and  out- 
buildings were  burnt  by  the  Indians  in  a  drunken  frolic. 
Here  he  took  the  latitude  of  the  place  with  one  of  Davis' 
quadrants,  and  made  the  fort  to  be  in  latitude  31  deg.  50  min. 
N.,  and  the  variation  of  the  needle  5  deg.  E.  The  lands  for 
several  miles  adjacent,  appeared  to  be  old,  worn-out,  Indian 
planting  grounds.  The  buildings  were  only  one  trader's  hut, 
near  the  old  fort.  How  vast  the  changes  since  that  period !  no 
appearance  of  civilized  man  but  one  solitary  traders  hut,  where 
the  large  and  nourishing  town  of  Natchez  now  stands.  It 
had  formerly  been  populated  with  a  numerous  tribe  of  In- 
dians, who  more  nearly  approached  the  Mexicans  in  civiliza- 
tion, at  the  time  of  the  conquest,  than  any  other  tribe  in 
North  America,  but  they  were  totally  exterminated  by  the 
French  about  the  year  1729.  On  the  27th,  the  party  visited 
a  small  settlement  on  Catharine's  creek,  three  miles  from  the 
river,  and  were  informed  that  on  Homochitto  creek,  about 
twenty  miles  distant,  were  a  number  of  settlers. 

They  had  now  ascended  the  river  by  Mr.  Putnam's  esti- 
mate, three  hundred  and  eighty-eight  miles,  and  in  all  that 
distance  had  seen  no  spring,  or  creek  water,  fit  to  drink.  On 
the  28th  they  left  the  Natchez,  and  on  the  3d  of  May,  arrived 
at  the  mouth  of  Bine  river,  or  Stone  creek,  forty-six  and  a 
half  miles  above.  About  eight  miles  below  is  the  Petit  gulf, 
where  now  is  the  village  of  Rodney.  The  river  is  bounded 
for  nearly  a  mile  by  a  solid  rock,  at  an  angle  of  forty-five 
degrees,  and  about  three  hundred  feet  high.  All  the  valua- 
ble lands  on  the  Mississippi,  below  Bine  river,  having  been 
already  located,  they  here  commenced  their  reconnoissance 
of  the  country  on  the  left  bank,  or  east  side  of  the  river,  for 
a  tract  of  land  suitable  for  farming.  They  ascended  Stony 
creek  in  their  boat,  seventeen  miles  to  the  forks.  The  lands 
on  the  left  side  were  low  and  subject  to  the  river  floods,  and 


46  RUFUS    PUTNAM. 

on   the   right  broken,  with  soil  rather  thin  and   gravelly. 
About  one  hundred  rods  below  the  forks,  they  marked  a  tree, 
for  the  commencement  of  the  location.     On  the  5th,  they 
returned  down  the  creek  to  the  Mississippi.     The  town  of 
Gibsonport  now  stands  on  this  creek,  which  is  known  by  the 
name  of  Bayou  Pierre,  and  is  in  the  midst  of  a  rich,  potton 
growing  country.     The  same  day  they  ascended  the  river  to 
Grand  gulf,  to  the  residence  of  Thomas  James,  an  Indian 
trader.     The  following  day  he  engaged  a  Choctaw  Indian  to 
accompany  them  as  a  guide,  and  also  to  notify  the  Indians 
they  might  meet  in  the  woods,  who  they  were.     Three  miles 
above  Mr.  James'  station,  was  the  mouth  of  the  La  Four- 
chetto,  or  Big  Black  river.    At  this  point  two  of  the  committee, 
with  the  Indian  guide,  left  the  boat,  and  proceeded  across  the 
country  to  the  Walnut  hills,  while  the  others  in  the  boat  pro- 
ceeded on  to  that  place  by  water.     The  distance  from  Big 
Black,  was  estimated  to  be  fifty-five  and  a  half  miles,  and  the 
boat  reached  there  on  the  8th  of  May.     On  the  way  up  passed 
several  high,  handsome  bottoms,  as  well  as  some  that  were 
flooded  in  high  water.     Here  they  met  the  party  by  land, 
who  reported  that  their  route  was  over  a  flat  country,  with 
some  cypress  swamps,  and  cane  brakes  so  thick  that  it  was 
impossible  to  explore  any  distance  from  the  path.     On  this 
camping  ground  is  now  located  the  commercial  and  thriving 
town  of  Vicksburg,  the  second  for  population  and  business 
in  the  state,  and  will  probably  soon  be  the  first.     On  the 
9th,  they  proceeded  on  to  the  mouth  of  the  Yazoo  river,  the 
same  two  gentlemen  going  by  land  as  on  the  6th,  for  the  pur- 
pose of  exploring  the  high  grounds  on  this  river,  distance 
seventeen  and  a  half  miles.     On  the  10th,  the  boat  ascended 
the  Yazoo  river  nine  miles  to  a  high  land,  said  to  have  been 
formerly  a  French  post,  where  they  met  their  companions, 
who  had  traversed  the  woods,  at  a  fine  spring,  issuing  from 
under  the  rocks. 


RUFUS    PUTNAM.  47 

By  calculation  Mr.  Putnam  ascertained  that  they  were 
now  north  of  the  provincial  line  of  West  Florida,  which 
was  further  confirmed  by  the  angry  looks  of  several  Indians, 
who  had  met  them  there,  and  disapproved  of  their  visit; 
this  induced  them  to  return  without  further  examination. 
The  Yazoo,  he  says,  is  about  twenty-five  perches  wide,  a 
dead  stream,  abounding  in  alligators.  The  Mississippi  in 
floods,  backs  high  up  this  river.  They  descended  that  day 
six  miles,  and  encamped.  It  was  intended  by  Mr.  Lyman 
and  Col.  Israel  Putnam,  to  have  gone  by  the  Chickasaw  path 
from  Yazoo,  across  the  country,  to  Big  Black  river,  but  their 
Indian  guide  refused  to  pilot  them.  From  the  11th  to  the 
13th,  they  explored  the  lands  on  the  left  bank,  or  south  side 
of  the  Yazoo,  and  on  the  latter  day  Col.  Putnam,  Mr.  Ly- 
man and  M.  Putnam  set  out  by  land,  to  explore  more  care- 
fully the  ridge  of  high  land  stretching  from  the  old  French 
post  to  Walnut  Hills.  They  traveled  as  near  the  hills  as 
possible,  on  account  of  the  cane  brakes,  discovered  several 
small  streams  issuing  from  the  high  grounds,  and  found  the 
soil  very  rich.  "  In  the  afternoon  they  were  taken  up  by  a 
mighty  cane  brake.  Here  Col.  Putnam  climbed  a  tree,  and 
saw  high  land  about  one  hundred  rods  distant,  which  we 
were  two  hours  in  gaining,  on  account  of  the  difficulty  of 
getting  through  the  cane."  At  this  place,  Mr.  Putnam 
mounted  a  tree,  and  had  a  fine  prospect  of  the  country. 
The  lands  from  the  north-east  round  to  the  south,  appeared 
hilly,  but  not  mountainous  or  very  broken.  They  descended 
part  way  down  the  hill,  and  encamped  by  a  fine  spring. 
This  mount  of  vision  must  have  been  in  the  north-west  por- 
tion of  what  is  now  Warren  county,  fifteen  or  twenty  miles 
north  of  Vicksburg,  in  the  midst  of  the  present  rich  cotton 
plantations.  On  the  14th,  they  came,  by  a  zigzag  course, 
through  the  flat  lands  to  their  boat,  which  had  descended  to 
within   one   mile  of  the  Walnut  hills.      This   region   was 


48  RUFUS    PUTNAM. 

much  injured  by  ponds,  cypress  swamps  and  overflowings 
of  the  river.  The  cane  was  chiefly  confined  to  the  uplands. 
On  the  15th,  Mr.  Putnam  and  Lyman  ascended  to  the  top 
of  the  hills,  where  the  former  climbed  two  trees,  and  found 
the  country  still  rising  toward  the  north,  and  toward  the 
east  and  south-east,  soil  rich,  and  covered  with  cane  on  the 
highest  ridges,  which  extended  over  on  to  Big  Black.  Some 
miles  above  the  mouth,  near  the  foot  of  the  hills,  are  some 
cypress  swamps  and  dead  water,  but  no  brooks  or  running 
streams.  Having  completed  the  exploration  in  that  quar- 
ter, they  dropped  down  the  river,  landing  several  times  to 
examine  the  bottom  lands.  They  had  intended  to  send  a 
part  of  the  committee  by  land,  across  the  bend  of  the  Mis- 
sissippi above  the  mouth  of  Big  Black,  but  Were  told  it  was 
impassable  by  reason  of  ponds  and  swamps.  On  the  16th  of 
May  they  returned  down  the  river  to  Mr.  James'  station,  who 
spoke  the  Indian  language,  and  through  him  their  guide  in- 
formed them,  that  on  the  Yazoo,  he  met  two  of  his  chiefs, 
Chickasaws,  who  were  opposed  to  the  whites  exploring  any 
of  the  country  above  the  Big  Black,  and  that  was  the  reason 
why  he  had  refused  to  pilot  them  from  the  Yazoo  to  that 
river.  The  following  day,  Col.  Putnam,  Mr.  Lyman,  and 
Mr.  Putnam  commenced  a  further  survey  of  the  lands  on 
the  Big  Black,  in  reference  to  a  location.  They  found  this 
stream  from  six  to  eight  rods  wide,  and  ascended  it  twenty- 
five  miles,  with  the  boat,  to  a  rocky  rapid,  over  which  the 
water  falls  about  a  fool,  and  is  a  good  mill  seat.  They  saw 
much  line  land  on  and  near  the  creek,  with  several  springs 
of  water:  on  the  left  bank,  it  was  hilly,  but  rich  land. 

On  the  20th,  they  returned  again  to  Mr.  James',  and  there 
found  Capt.  George,  a  Chickasaw  chief,  waiting  to  see  them. 
He  showed  them  his  commission  from  Gov.  Chester,  in  which 
lie  is  called  Mingo  Oumee,  or  Snake  head.  lie  informed 
thrm.  that  at  a  congresn  of  his  people,  it  had  been  decided 


RUFUS    PUTNAM.  49 

that  no  whites  should  settle  on  the  Yazoo,  but  that  they 
might  do  so  on  the  Big  Black,  but  not  higher  up  the  Missis- 
sippi. The  Chickasaws  have  their  towns  on  the  Yazoo,  and 
the  Choctaws  east  of  them.  On  the  21st  they  left  the  Indian 
traders'  post,  on  their  return  down  the  river,  and  on  the  24th 
of  May  reached  the  Natchez,  where  Mr.  Putnam  again  took 
the  latitude,  and  found  it  as  before,  to  be  31  deg.  and  15 
min.  N.,  and  by  an  observation  at  sunsetting,  found  the 
variation  of  the  needle  to  be  5  deg.  and  30  min.  E.  Here 
they  were  told  that  the  country  on  the  heads  of  the  Homo- 
chitto,  now  in  Franklin  county,  Mississippi,  were  hilly,  much 
broken,  and  badly  watered;  therefore  they  did  not  explore 
that  region,  as  formerly  intended. 

On  the  2d  of  June,  arrived  at  Manchac,  being  delayed  by 
explorations  of  the  country  at  various  points  on  the  left 
bank  of  the  river.  A  description  of  the  region  examined, 
is  given  by  Mr.  Putnam  with  minuteness.  The  climate  in 
winter  is  so  temperate,  that  cattle  need  no  fodder,  but  live 
abroad  all  the  season  in  the  woods,  and  yet  the  summer 
heat  is  by  no  means  great.  The  intervals  or  bottoms  he 
describes  as  very  rich,  but  subject  to  be  overflowed,  and  in- 
terspersed with  ponds  and  cypress  swamps,  which  will  be 
difficult  to  drain.  That  the  uplands  back  of  the  bottoms, 
are  rich,  but  broken,  and  from  several  views  taken  from  the 
tops  of  trees,  continue  so  for  several  miles  into  the  country. 
The  soil  rather  thin,  but  rich,  based  on  clay;  the  under- 
growth cane.  The  timber  hickory,  and  oaks  of  various 
kinds ;  while  on  the  bottoms  he  found  locust,  willow,  cotton- 
wood,  copalm?,  ash,  mulberry,  the  royal  magnolia,  or 
high  laurel,  with  cypress  in  abundance.  As  to  the  streams 
of  water,  he  saw  but  few  small  ones,  and  none  suitable  for 
mills ;  and  the  only  mill-seat  he  saw  or  heard  of,  was  on  the  Big 
Black.     The  feathered  race  consists  of  some  turkeys,  plenty 

of  ducks,  and  in  winter,  geese  and  wood  pigeons  (columba 
4 


50  RUFUS    PUTNAM. 

migratoria.)  The  wild  game  were  deer  and  bears  chiefly. 
Reptiles  not  abundant,  and  those  he  saw,  harmless.  Fish 
of  various  kinds  were  plenty  in  the  rivers,  the  chief  of  which 
were  catfish  and  sheep's-head.  Alligators  swarmed  in  the 
Mississippi,  and  were  found  in  all  the  streams  they  visited. 
On  the  3d  of  June  they  met  the  sloop,  which  brought  them 
out  three  leagues  below  Manchac,  and  were  detained  until 
the  9th,  by  Mr.  Ladle,  the  supercargo,  in  taking  in  lading. 

On  the  12th,  came  to,  at  four  miles  above  New  Orleans, 
and  remained  until  the  28th,  repairing  the  vessel.  On  Thurs- 
day, the  1st  of  July,  at  4  P.  M.,  they  passed  the  Balize,  and 
sailed  for  Pensacola,  but  on  account  of  head  winds,  did  not 
arrive  there  until  the  morning  of  the  5th. 

On  the  6th,  the  committee  waited  on  the  governor,  who 
informed  them  that  he  had  received  letters  from  England  by 
way  of  Jamaica,  since  their  absence,  but  nothing  further  re- 
lating to  a  grant  of  lands  to  the  Provincials.  The  following 
day  they  presented  a  petition  to  Gov.  Chester  and  council, 
with  a  plan  of  the  townships  they  proposed  to  locate;  but 
so  many  objections  were  made  to  it,  that  the  decision  of  the 
matter  was  laid  over  to  the  9th.  In  the  meantime,  the  sur- 
veyor-general requested  Mr.  Putnam  to  make  out  a  new 
draft  of  the  proposed  townships.  On  that  day  the  council 
presented  the  committee  with  their  decision  as  to  the  lands, 
which  limited  the  time  of  their  taking  actual  possession,  to 
the  1st  of  March,  1774.  They  appealed  to  the  governor  for 
an  extension  of  the  time,  but  without  success.  On  the  11th, 
they  left  the  town  of  Pensacola,  and  fell  down  to  Rose  island, 
from  which  place,  on  advice  from  Mr.  Jones,  one,  of  the 
council,  Col.  Putnam  and  Mr.  Lyman  went  up  to  town,  to 
engage  Mr.  Livingston,  the  secretary,  to  make  one  more 
effort  in  council,  for  lengthening  the  time,  but  the  result  is 
not  recorded. 

Owing  to  head  winds,  they  did  not  sail  until  the  15th  of 


RUFUS    PUTNAM.  51 

July.  The  latitude  as  observed  that  day  was  29  deg.  1 1  min. 
N.  From  thence  to  the  22d,  he  kept  a  regular  journal  of 
the  progress  of  the  voyage,  giving  the  daily  latitude,  currents, 
&c,  with  the  tact  of  an  old  navigator.  On  that  day,  he  was 
so  prostrated  by  sea-sickness,  that  the  observations  are 
omitted  until  the  6th  of  August,  when  they  arrived  at  New 
York.  From  thence  he  returned  down  the  sound  to  Nor- 
wich, and  from  thence  by  land,  to  his  home  in  Brookfield, 
having  been  absent  over  eight  months. 

As  to  the  result  of  this  exploration,  he  says,  "  So  favorable 
was  the  report  of  the  committee,  as  to  the  quality  of  the 
land,  climate,  &c,  and  moderate  terms  on  which  the  gov- 
ernor and  council  had  engaged  to  grant  them,  that  at  a 
meeting  of  the  military  land  company  in  the  fall  of  1773, 
at  Hartford,  they  resolved  to  prosecute  the  settlement;  and 
during  that  autumn,  winter,  and  spring  following,  several 
hundred  families  embarked  from  Massachusetts,  Connecticut, 
and  other  places,  for  the  purpose  of  settling  on  the  lands 
we  had  explored.  But  they  were  sadly  disappointed.  On 
the  6th  of  October  of  that  year,  Gov.  Chester  received  an 
order  from  the  king  in  council,  prohibiting  him  from  grant- 
ing any  more  lands,  either  on  family  rights,  or  on  purchase, 
until  the  king's  pleasure  be  further  signified  to  him.  Thus 
the  land  office  was  shut  before  the  emigrants  arrived,  and 
indeed  I  believe  before  any  of  them  sailed,  and  never 
opened  afterward  ."  The  poor  Provincials  were  greatly 
disappointed,  but  were  permitted  to  occupy  any  vacant  land 
they  could  find.  The  emigrants  of  1774  arrived  generally 
so  late  in  the  season,  that  many  of  them  sickened  and  died 
in  this  new  climate,  and  the  war  which  soon  followed,  put 
a  stop  to  any  further  attempts  to  prosecute  the  settlement 
Thus  early  had  that  spirit  of  roaming  and  change  of  place 
infected  the  New  Englanders,  which  appears  to  be  natu- 
ral to  their  Saxon  blood,  descending  from  their  Puritan 


52  RUFUS    PUTNAM. 

forefathers,  who  wandered  early  in  the  seventeenth  century 
from  their  native  land  to  find  a  new  home  in  North  America. 

Mr.  Putnam  received  only  eighty  dollars  for  all  his  ex- 
penses and  loss  of  time  in  this  trip  to  the  Mississippi. 

The  annexed  plan  is  an  interesting  relic  of  this  affair,  and 
shows  the  boundaries  and  forms  of  the  townships  located  for 
the  company,  which  was  drawn  by  Mr.  Putnam,  and  ap- 
pended to  the  report  of  the  committee.  In  his  orders  from 
Elias  Dunford,  Esq.,  the  surveyor-general  of  West  Florida, 
preserved  amongst  his  papers,  minute  directions  are  given  as 
to  his  manner  of  conducting  the  survey,  requiring  notices  of 
important  places  on  the  river  for  landings,  wharves,  towns, 
&c.  The  townships  were  in  no  case  to  exceed  in  width  one 
third  of  their  length,  so  that  their  base  on  the  water  courses 
should  not  occupy  an  over  proportion  of  their  banks,  which 
accounts  for  their  unusual  shape.  They  were  nineteen  in 
number,  and  intended  to  contain  about  twenty  thousand 
acres  each,  making  the  whole  grant  from  Gov.  Chester 
amount  to  three  hundred  and  eighty  thousand  acres.  The. 
cost  to  the  company  was  no  more  than  the  fees  claimed  by 
the  officers  of  the  government,  amounting  to  five  pounds 
sterling,  or  eighteen  dollars,  twenty  cents,  for  every  thousand 
acres. 

In  the  Boston  Weekly  News-Letter,  of  December  4th, 
1772,  there  is  published  a  full  account  of  the  meeting  of  the 
Company  of  Military  Adventurers,  held  at  Hartford  in  No- 
vember, with  the  origin  of  the  company,  their  previous 
doings,  and  the  names  of  all  the  various  committees.  In 
the  preamble  to  this  meeting,  it  is  stated  that  Gen.  Phinehas 
Lyman  was  chosen  as  their  agent  to  solicit  the  Court  of 
Great  Britain  for  a  grant  of  land,  in  1763,  and  that  he  had 
been  detained  at  that  court  for  nine  years,  to  the  great 
expense  of  the  company  in  obtaining  the  grant.  This  was 
;i  fair  specimen  of  the  manner  in  which  the  mother  country 


RUFUS    PUTNAM.  53 

dealt  with  her  colonies ;  and  even  then  the  pretended  gift 
was  a  delusion,  as  they  promised  Gen.  Lyman  that  the  order 
to  Gov.  Chester,  authorizing  the  grant,  should  be  sent  out  so 
as  to  reach  him  by  the  time  he  arrived  at  Boston. 

Several  letters  are  preserved  amongst  Gen.  Putnam's  pa- 
pers, from  the  adventurers  who  went  out  to  West  Florida. 
Amongst  them  one  from  Capt.  Michael  Martyn,  on  the  river 
Amite,  August  17,  1774.  He  had  settled  forty-five  miles  up 
that  stream.  His  family  had  been  sick,  but  he  was  pleased 
with  the  country.  Gen.  Lyman,  with  several  other  families, 
had  moved  on  to  the  Big  Black  river,  in  the  surveyed  terri- 
tory, and  one  man  was  about  erecting  a  mill  at  the  little 
falls  on  that  stream ;  but  that  the  prospect  of  making  money 
by  shipping  lumber  to  New  Orleans  was  blasted  by  the 
Spaniards  forbidding  that  trade. 

In  the  year  1802,  the  survivors  of  that  company,  about 
one  hundred  in  number,  re-organized  themselves,  and  peti- 
tioned Congress  for  a  confirmation  of  their  old  grant,  but  it 
does  not  appear  that  anything  was  done  for  them ;  and  thus 
ended  this  famous  land  adventure,  which  at  the  time  caused 
a  good  deal  of  excitement  in  New  England. 

The  revolutionary  storm,  which  had  been  gathering  for 
several  years,  burst  upon  the  colonies,  the  second  year  after 
his  return  from  this  expedition.  Ever  active  to  the  service 
of  his  native  country,  he  joined  the  army  in  the  capacity  of 
a  lieutenant-colonel,  in  the  regiment  of  Col.  David  Brewer. 
His  regiment  was  stationed  at  Roxbury,  in  Gen.  Thomas' 
division  of  the  army,  soon  after  the  affair  at  Lexington. 

In  a  short  time  after  the  battle  of  Bunker  h  ill,  the  general 
and  field  officers  of  the  Roxbury  division,  met  in  council  on 
the  best  course  to  pursue,  in  their  present  defenseless  situa- 
tion, exposed  at  any  time  to  the  attack  of  the  enemy  without 
any  better  protection  than  a  board  fence.     It  was  decided 


54  RUFUS    PUTNAM. 

that  lines  should  be  thrown  up  for  the  defense  of  the  town. 
When  this  was  determined,  the  difficulty  arose  where  to  find 
a  man  capable  of  directing  the  works  in  a  military  manner. 
Engineers  were  rare  amongst  a  people  who  had  never  car- 
ried on  a  war  but  under  the  direction  of  mother  Britain,  who 
filled  such  posts  with  her  own  sons.  At  length  it  was  men- 
tioned to  the  general  by  some  of  Col.  Putnam's  friends,  that 
in  the  late  war  against  Canada,  he  had  seen  some  service  in 
this  line ;  but  on  being  solicited  by  the  commander  to  under- 
take the  work,  he  frankly  told  him  that  he  had  never  read  a 
word  on  that  branch  of  science,  and  all  his  knowledge  was 
acquired  by  working  under  British  engineers.  The  general 
would  take  no  denial,  and  Col.  Putnam  reluctantly  set  about 
tracing  out  lines  in  front  of  Roxbury,  toward  Boston,  and 
various  places  in  the  vicinity,  especially  at  Sewel's  Point. 
It  so  happened  that  he  was  occupied  at  the  latter  post,  when 
Gen.  Washington  and  Gen.  Lee,  first  came  over  to  examine 
the  situation  of  the  troops,  and  state  of  the  defenses  on  that 
side  of  Charles'  river.  The  plan  of  the  works  met  the  entire 
approbation  of  Gen.  Washington,  and  Lee  spoke  in  high 
terms  of  that  on  Sewel's  Point,  when  compared  with  those 
at  Cambridge,  which  animated  and  encouraged  him  to  per- 
severe in  his  efforts.  All  the  defenses  at  Roxbury,  Dorches- 
ter and  Brooklyne,  were  of  his  construction,  and  especially 
the  fort  on  Cobble  Hill. 

In  the  course  of  this  campaign,  at  the  request  of  Gen. 
Washington,  he  surveyed  and  delineated  a  map  of  the 
courses,  distances,  and  relative  situation  of  the  enemy's 
works  in  Boston  and  Charleston,  with  the  American  defenses 
in  Cambridge,  Roxbury,  &c,  which  must  have  been  of  great 
importance  to  him  in  arranging  his  plans  for  an  attack  on 
the  former  place.  In  December,  he  accompanied  Gen.  Lee 
to  Providence  and  Newport,  Rhode  Island,  and  at  the  latter 
place  planned  a  battery  that  commanded  the  harbor ;  also, 


BTJFUS    PUTNAM.  55 

a  work  on  an  elevation  at  Howland's  ferry,  which  secured 
the  communication  of  the  island  with  the  main  land.  In  the 
new  organization  of  the  army,  made  in  the  fall  of  1775,  he 
was  appointed  a  lieutenant-colonel  in  the  twenty-second 
regiment,  commanded  by  Col.  Samuel  Wyllis.  He,  however, 
did  not  actually  join  that  regiment,  but  was  continued  in 
the  engineer  department. 

In  the  winter  of  1776,  Gen.  Washington  was  deeply  en- 
gaged in  planning  an  attack  on  the  British  army  in  Boston, 
by  crossing  the  troops  on  the  ice,  or  else  to  draw  them  out 
from  their  stronghold,  by  erecting  works  on  Dorchester  neck, 
that  would  not  only  annoy  the  town,  but  destroy  their  ship- 
ping in  the  harbor.  In  constructing  the  latter  work,  Col. 
Putnam,  with  his  usual  modesty,  and  constant  reliance  on 
an  overruling  Power,  in  directing  the  affairs  of  man,  thus 
speaks  :  "  As  soon  as  the  ice  was  thought  to  be  sufficiently 
strong  for  the  army  to  pass  over,  a  council  of  general  offi- 
cers was  convened  on  the  subject.  What  their  particular 
opinions  were  I  never  knew,  but  the  brigadiers  were  directed 
to  consult  their  field  officers,  and  they  to  feel  the  temper  of 
the  captains  and  subalterns.  While  this  was  doing  I  wa3 
invited  to  dine  at  head-quarters;  and  while  at  dinner,  Gen. 
Washington  invited  me  to  tarry  after  the  company  had  de- 
parted. When  we  were  alone  he  entered  into  a  free  con- 
versation on  the  subject  of  storming  the  city  of  Boston. 
That  it  was  much  better  to  draw  the  enemy  out  to  Dorches- 
ter, than  to  attack  him  in  Boston,  no  one  doubted ;  for  if  we 
could  maintain  ourselves  on  that  neck  of  land,  our  command 
of  the  town  and  harbor  would  be  such  as  would  probably 
compel  them  to  leave  the  place.  But  the  cold  weather, 
which  had  made  a  bridge  of  ice  for  our  passage  into  Boston, 
had  also  frozen  the  earth  to  a  great  depth,  especially  in  the 
open  country,  like  the  hills  on  Dorchester  neck,  so  that  it  was 
impossible  to  make  a  lodgment  there  in  the  usual  way,  (tha* 


56  RUFUS    PUTNAM. 

is,  by  excavating  the  earth.)  However,  the  general  directed 
me  to  consider  the  matter,  and  if  I  could  think  of  any 
way  by  which  it  could  be  done,  to  make  a  report  to  him 
immediately." 

He  then  describes  the  events  which  he  calls  providential, 
and  may  evidently  be  referred  to  him  who  created,  as  well 
as  rules  the  destiny  of  man,  but  which  thoughtless  and  blind 
mortals  attribute  to  the  freaks  of  chance.  "I  left  head- 
quarters in  company  with  another  gentleman,  and  on  the 
way  came  by  those  of  Gen.  Heath.  I  had  no  thought  of 
calling  until  I  came  against  his  door,  when  I  said,  let  us 
call  on  Gen.  Heath,  to  which  the  gentleman  agreed.  I  had 
no  other  motive  than  to  pay  my  respects  to  the  general. 
While  there  I  cast  my  eye  on  a  book  which  lay  on  the  table, 
lettered  on  the  back  Muller's  Field  Engineer.  Immediately 
I  requested  the  general  to  lend  it  to  me.  He  denied  me. 
I  repeated  my  request.  He  again  refused,  saying,  he  never 
lent  his  books.  I  then  told  him  that  he  must  recollect,  that 
he  was  one,  who  at  Roxbury,  in  a  manner  compelled  me  to 
undertake  a  business  on  which,  at  the  time,  I  confessed  I 
had  never  read  a  word,  and  that  he  must  let  me  have  the 
book.  After  a  few  more  excuses  on  his  part,  and  pressing 
on  mine,  I  obtained  the  loan  of  it." 

He  arrived  at  his  quarters  about  dark,  but  was  so  much 
engaged  in  receiving  reports  of  the  progress  of  the  works 
until  a  late  hour,  that  he  did  not  examine  Muller  until 
morning.  On  looking  over  the  contents  of  the  book,  he 
came  to  the  word  chandelier.  This  was  a  new  phrase  to 
him,  but  on  turning  to  the  page  where  the  article  was 
described,  and  reading  it  carefully  over,  he  was  soon  ready 
to  report  a  plan  for  making  a  lodgment  on  Dorchester 
heights.  In  a  few  minutes  after  he  had  decided  on  the  fea- 
sibility of  the  plan,  Col.  Gridlv,  who  had  planned  the 
works  at  Cambridge,  and  Col.  Knox  of  the  artillery,  who 


RUFUS    PUTNAM.  57 

had  been  directed  to  consult  with  Col.  Putnam  on  this  diffi- 
cult subject,  entered  his  room  and  acquiesced  in  his  plan. 
The  report  was  approved  by  Gen.  Washington,  and  prepa- 
rations immediately  made  to  carry  it  into  operation.  The 
chandeliers  were  made  of  stout  timbers,  ten  feet  long,  into 
which  were  framed  posts,  five  feet  high  and  five  feet  apart, 
placed  on  the  ground  in  parallel  lines,  and  the  open  spaces 
fitted  in  with  bundles  of  fascines,  strongly  picketed  together; 
thus  forming  a  movable  parapet  of  wood,  instead  of  earth, 
as  heretofore  done.  The  men  were  immediately  set  to  work 
in  the  adjacent  apple  orchard  and  woodlands,  cutting  and 
bundling  up  the  fascines,  and  carrying  them  with  the  chan- 
deliers on  to  the  ground  selected  for  the  work  on  the  night 
of  the  4th  of  March,  and  on  the  morning  of  the  5th,  the 
British  troops  were  astonished  to  see  a  formidable  battery, 
erected  by  their  industrious  Yankee  foes  in  one  night,  where 
the  evening  before  no  appearance  of  such  a  defense  was  to 
be  seen.  The  ground  was  so  deeply  frozen  that  the  intrench- 
ing tools  made  no  more  impression  on  it  than  on  a  solid 
rock,  and  their  old  mode  of  excavating  trenches,  and  throw- 
ing up  parapets  of  earth,  was  utterly  at  a  nonplus. 

The  providential  visit  of  Col.  Putnam  at  Gen.  Heath's 
quarters,  was  both  the  remote  and  immediate  cause  of  the 
sudden  withdrawal  of  the  British  troops  from  Boston.  On 
the  first  sight  of  this  barrier,  mounted  with  artillery  and 
frowning  defiance,  Gen.  Howe  decided  on  landing  troops 
and  carrying  it  by  storm,  and  would  have  probably  been 
another  Bunker  hill  adventure  or  something  worse.  The  ice 
broke  way  soon  after,  and  his  boats  being  dispersed  by  a 
gale  of  wind,  when  the  troops  had  embarked,  he  gave  up 
the  design,  and  sent  word  to  Gen.  Washington  that  he  would 
leave  the  town  with  his  army  unharmed,'  if  he  would  not 
molest  the  shipping  while  the  men  and  stores  were  remov- 
ing.    The  evacuation  of  the  place,  and  the  relief  of  the 


58  RUFUS    PUTNAM. 

inhabitants  from  British  thraldom  and  abuse,  being  all  that 
Washington  sought,  the  terms  were  complied  with,  and  this 
desirable  object  accomplished  without  bloodshed. 

On  the  last  day  of  March,  1776,  he  was  ordered  by  Gen. 
Washington  to  proceed  to  New  York,  by  way  of  Providence, 
Rhode  Island,  to  aid  Gov.  Cook  with  his  advice  and 
assistance,  in  constructing  works  for  the  defense  of  that 
town.  While  on  this  tour  of  duty,  he  again  visited  New- 
port, and  made  additional  defenses  there.  On  the  6th  of 
April  he  had  an  interview  with  Washington,  at  Providence, 
who  felt  a  deep  interest  in  his  welfare,  not  only  for  his  suc- 
cessful efforts  on  Dorchester  hights,  but  also  for  the  integ- 
rity, uprightness,  and  straightforward  patriotism  of  the 
man ;  and  not  only  during  the  war,  but  during  his  whole 
life,  treated  him  with  marked  respect  and  friendship.  He 
reached  New  York  about  the  20th  of  April,  and  was  imme- 
diately authorized  as  chief  engineer,  to  lay  out  and  oversee 
the  works  of  defense  during  that  campaign  at  New  York, 
Long  Island,  and  their  dependencies,  with  Fort  Washington, 
Fort  Lee,  Kingsbridge,  &c,  the  larger  portion  of  which 
appears  in  the  plan  of  New  York  island,  attached  to  Mar- 
shall's Life  of  Washington.  This  was  a  service  of  great 
fatigue,  as  it  occupied  all  his  time  from  daylight  in  the 
morning  until  night,  and  sometimes  all  night. 

On  the  10th  of  July,  Gen.  Washington,  in  a  letter  to  Con- 
gress, notices  the  services  of  Col.  Putnam  :  "  Gen.  Mercer  is 
now  in  the  Jerseys,  for  the  purpose  of  receiving  and  ordering 
the  militia  coming  for  the  flying  camp,  and  I  have  sent  over 
our  chief  engineer  to  view  the  ground  in  the  neighborhood 
of  Amboy,  and  to  lay  out  some  necessary  works  for  the 
encampment,  and  such  as  may  be  proper  at  the  different 
passes  in  Bergen  Neck  and  other  places." 

In  August,  Congress  appointed  him  engineer,  which  was 
announced  by  Gen.  Washington  to  him,  as  follows: 


RUFUS    PUTNAM.  59 

"New  York,  August  11,  1776. 

Sir  :  I  have  the  pleasure  to  inform  you  that  Congress  have 
appointed  you  an  engineer,  with  the  rank  of  colonel,  and 
pay  of  sixty  dollars  a  month.  I  beg  of  you  to  hasten  the 
sinking  of  vessels  and  other  obstructions  in  the  river  at  Fort 
Washington,  as  fast  as  it  is  possible.  Advise  Gen.  Putnam 
constantly  of  the  kind  of  vessels  you  want  and  other  things, 
that  no  delay  that  can  possibly  be  avoided  may  happen. 

I  am  sir,  your  assured  friend  and  servant, 

G.  Washington. 

P.  S. — Congress  have  just  sent  two  French  gentlemen 
here  as  engineers.  Will  either  of  them  be  of  use  at  Fort 
Washington  or  Kingsbridge  ?" 

A  vast  deal  of  labor  and  expense  was  bestowed  by  the 
Americans  early  in  the  war,  in  placing  obstructions  in  the 
North  river,  such  as  chains,  booms,  chevaux-de-frise,  sunken 
vessels,  &c,  to  prevent  the  ascent  of  the  enemy's  ships  of 
war  to  the  highlands ;  but  all  of  it  was  useless  expenditure, 
for  with  a  leading  wind  their  large  frigates  and  seventy-fours 
could  with  ease  break  through  any  obstruction  of  this  kind, 
and  only  excited  their  derision.  After  a  year  or  two  of  trial, 
this  mode  of  defense  was  abandoned.  Their  entire  control 
of  all  our  harbors  and  mouths  of  rivers  by  their  vast  fleets, 
gave  them  a  great  advantage  over  their  foes,  in  the  transport 
of  troops,  munitions  of  war,  &c,  from  one  point  to  another. 

On  the  8th  of  September,  1776,  a  council  of  general  officers 
had  determined  on  holding  possession  of  the  city  of  New 
York.  On  the  12th,  by  order  of  Gen.  Washington,  Col. 
Putnam  went  out  with  Gen.  Mifflin  to  reconnoiter  between 
Kingsbridge  and  Morris  ania,  and  on  their  return  Washington 
met  them  near  Harlem  bights,  where  they  made  their  report. 
This  led  to  a  council  of  general  officers,  in  which  it  was  decided 
to  abandon  the  city,  and  this  measure  was  based  on  their 


60  RUFUS    PUTNAM. 

report,  being  the  means  of  saving  the  army  from  total 
destruction. 

Col.  Putnam  remarks  that  his  appointment  by  Congress 
as  engineer,  was  wholly  unexpected.  That  his  first  attempts 
in  that  department  arose  from  pure  necessity,  in  place  of  a 
better  man,  and  that  his  continuance  in  that  service  was 
more  out  of  respect  to  Gen.  Washington,  than  a  sense  of  his 
own  qualifications.  After  his  arrival  at  New  York  he  had 
greatly  improved  his  knowledge,  by  the  study  of  writers  on 
that  subject;  and  his  daily  practice  in  that  profound  art  for 
more  than  a  year,  had  now  made  him  a  much  more  skillful 
engineer,  yet  his  natural  modesty  had  never  led  him  once  to 
think  of  being  appointed  to  the  first  post  in  a  corps  of  engi- 
neers. His  observations  on  Ihe  deficiencies  and  difficulties 
which  attended  that  department,  led  him,  in  September,  to 
draw  up  a  plan  for  a  distinct  engineering  corps,  which  was 
presented  to  Gen.  Washington,  and  by  him  laid  before  Con- 
gress, with  the  following  letter,  of  November  5 : 

"  I  have  taken  the  liberty  to  transmit  a  plan  for  establish- 
ing a  corps  of  engineers,  artificers,  &c,  sketched  out  by 
Col.  Putnam,  and  which  is  proposed  for  the  consideration  of 
Congress.  How  far  they  may  incline  to  adopt  it,  or  whether 
they  may  choose  to  proceed  on  such  an  extensive  scale,  they 
will  be  pleased  to  determine.  However,  I  conceive  it  a 
matter  well  worthy  of  their  consideration,  being  convinced 
from  experience,  and  from  reasons  suggested  by  Col.  Put- 
nam, who  has  acted  with  great  diligence  and  reputation  in 
the  business,  that  some  establishment  of  the  sort  is  highly 
necessary,  and  will  be  productive  of  the  most  beneficial 
consequences." 

In  his  letter  which  accompanied  the  project,  Col.  Putnam 
disclaimed  all  pretensions  to  being  placed  at  the  head  of 
the  corps,  but  expressed  a  desire  to  serve  in  the  line  of  the 
army.     In  this  modest  rejection  of  so  distinguished  a  post, 


RUFUS    PUTNAM.  61 

he  was,  no  doubt,  in  some  measure  influenced  by  the  well 
known  deficiencies  of  his  early  education,  but  his  love  of 
country  being  greater  than  the  love  of  self,  led  him  to  prefer 
the  appointment  of  some  better  educated  man.  His  judg- 
ment and  practical  skill  in  this  branch,  was  no  doubt  equal 
or  superior  to  that  of  any  other  man  in  the  army,  while  his 
knowledge  of  surveying  and  drafting,  with  his  mechanical 
turn  of  mind  and  sound  judgment,  rendered  him  a  far  better 
master  of  this  branch  of  science  than  he  was  willing  to 
admit. 

On  the  19th  of  October  the  enemy  landed  their  army  on 
Pells  point,  and  some  skirmishing  took  place  between  a  part 
of  Glover's  brigade  and  the  advance  of  the  British  troops, 
near  East  Chester.  The  following  morning  Gen.  Washing- 
ton directed  Col.  Putnam  to  reconnoiter  their  position.  For 
this  purpose  he  left  Kingsbridge,  in  company  with  Col.  Reid, 
the  adjutant-general,  and  a  foot-guard  of  twenty  men. 
From  the  nights  of  East  Chester  they  saw  a  small  body  of 
the  enemy  near  the  church,  but  could  learn  nothing  from 
the  inhabitants,  as  the  houses  were  all  deserted.  Col.  Reid 
now  left  him  to  attend  to  other  duties,  and  Col.  Putnam 
requested  him  to  take  back  the  guard,  as  he  thought  he 
could  better  succeed  in  reconnoitering  by  himself.  He  then 
disguised  his  appearance  as  an  officer,  and  set  out  for  White 
Plains,  a  place  he  had  never  visited,  nor  did  he  know  the 
road  which  led  to  that  place.  Directly  a  highway  turned 
off  to  the  right,  which  he  followed  a  short  distance,  and 
came  to  a  house,  where  a  woman  informed  him  that  the 
road  he  was  now  on  led  to  New  Rochelle ;  that  the  enemy 
were  there,  and  had  posted  a  guard  at  a  house  then  in  sight. 
He  now  turned  his  course,  and  proceeded  toward  W'hite 
Plains,  approaching  within  three  or  four  miles  of  the  place, 
when  he  discovered  a  house  a  little  ahead  with  men  about  it. 
Before  advancing,  he  carefully  examined  their  appearance 


62  RUFUS     PUTNAM. 

with  his  spy-glass,  and  ascertained  that  they  were  not 
British  soldiers.  He  then  advanced  and  entered  the  house, 
which  was  a  tavern;  calling  for  some  oats  for  his  horse,  and 
sitting  quietly  down,  listened  to  their  conversation.  He 
soon  discovered  that  they  were  Whigs,  and  ascertained  the 
following  valuable  facts,  viz.:  that  the  main  army  of  the 
British  were  lying  near  New  Rochelle,  distant  from  White 
Plains  about  nine  miles,  with  good  roads  and  an  open  level 
country  between,  and  that  at  the  latter  place  was  a  large 
quantity  of  American  stores  under  the  guard  of  about  three 
hundred  militia.  That  a  detachment  of  the  enemy  was 
posted  at  Mamaronec,  only  six  miles  from  the  Plains,  while 
on  the  other  side  was  the  Hudson  river,  in  which  lay  five  or 
six  of  the  enemy's  armed  vessels  at  a  distance  of  only  five 
miles,  so  that  the  main  depot  of  provisions  for  the  American 
army,  which  Gen.  Washington  had  ordered  here  as  a  place 
of  safety,  was  inclosed  on  three  sides  by  his  adversaries. 
Col.  Putnam  saw  at  a  glance  their  hazardous  position,  and 
hastened  back  with  his  all  important  discoveries.  The  road 
from  Ward's  tavern  where  he  then  was,  led  across  the  Braux, 
and  was  the  most  direct  route  for  his  return,  but  it  passed 
so  near  the  positions  occupied  by  the  enemy  that  it  required 
great  watchfulness  to  avoid  detection.  As  he  approached 
the  highland  west  of  the  little  river  Braux,  he  saw  it  was 
already  occupied  by  armed  men,  but  on  applying  his  spy- 
glass, ascertained  they  were  American  troops,  and  on  his 
arrival  found  it  to  be  Lord  Stirling's  division,  who  had  taken 
a  position  there  since  he  passed  in  the  morning.  He 
announced  his  discoveries  to  the  general,  refreshed  himself 
and  horse,  and  set  out  for  head-quarters,  ten  miles  distant, 
by  the  mouth  of  Saw-mill  river,  a  road  he  had  never  traveled 
before,  leading  through  a  noted  Tory  settlement.  It  was 
now  dark,  but  he  dare  not  inquire  the  way,  lest  he  should  be 
arrested.     An  overruling  Providence  guided  his  steps,  and 


RUFUS    PUTNAM.  63 

he  arrived  in  safety  at  Gen.  Washington's  quarters,  near 
Kingsbridge,  about  nine  o'clock.  He  found  him  alone,  and 
ready  to  receive  his  report,  with  a  sketch  of  the  country, 
which  he  hastily  made,  showing  the  relative  positions  of  the 
different  British  detachments,  and  the  stores  at  White  Plains. 
This,  like  the  clue  of  the  labyrinth,  at  once  led  him  to  see 
the  difficulties  and  dangers  of  his  position,  and  the  path  by 
which  he  could  be  extricated.  Gen.  Washington  complained 
very  feelingly  of  the  gentlemen  of  New  York,  from  whom 
he  had  never  been  able  to  obtain  a  plan  of  the  country : 
that  it  was  by  their  advice  he  had  ordered  the  stores  to 
White  Plains,  as  a  place  of  safety.  This  was  a  serious  dif- 
ficulty under  which  he  labored  through  the  first  years  of  the 
war,  the  lack  of  correct  topographical  descriptions  of  the 
country  in  which  he  was  acting,  often  leading  him  into  the 
toils  of  the  enemy,  when  he  thought  he  was  escaping  or  out 
of  danger.  Such  a  man  as  Putnam  was  then  an  invaluable 
treasure;  who  was  fearless,  but  cautious  in  scanning  the 
positions  of  the  foe,  and  could  delineate  on  paper,  what  he 
had  seen  with  his  eyes,  making  his  descriptions  both  intelli- 
gent and  practical.  Washington  immediately  sent  a  mes- 
senger for  Gen.  Greene  and  Gen.  George  Clinton,  since  Vice 
President  of  the  United  States.  When  the  latter  entered, 
Putnam's  sketch  and  report  were  laid  before  him,  and  the 
question  asked  as  to  the  correctness  of  the  topographical 
sketch.  He  confirmed  its  accuracy.  In  a  short  time  he  was 
charged  with  a  letter  to  Lord  Stirling,  and  orders  to  proceed 
immediately  to  his  camp,  which  he  reached  by  the  same 
route,  about  two  o'clock  in  the  morning.  Before  daylight 
his  division  was  in  motion,  in  full  march  for  White  Plains, 
where  they  arrived  about  nine  o'clock  on  the  morning  of 
the  21st  of  October,  "  and  thus  was  the  American  army  saved 
by  an  interposition  of  Providence,  from  a  probable  total 
destruction." 


G4  RUFUS PUTNAM. 

"  It  may  be  asked  wherein  this  interposition  of  Providence 
appears  ?  I  answer  first,  in  the  stupidity  of  the  British  gen- 
eralj  in  that  he  did  not  early  in  the  morning  of  the  20th, 
send  a  detachment,  and  take  possession  of  the  post  and 
stores  at  White  Plains ;  for  had  he  done  so,  we  must  then 
have  fought  him  on  his  own  terms,  and  at  such  disadvan- 
tage on  our  part  as  must,  in  all  probability,  have  proved 
our  overthrow."  "  Again,  when  I  parted  with  Col.  Reid,  on 
the  20th,  I  have  ever  thought  I  wras  moved  to  so  hazardous 
an  undertaking  by  foreign  influence.  On  my  route  I  was 
liable  to  meet  with  some  British  or  Tory  parties,  who  would 
probably  have  made  me  a  prisoner,  as  I  had  no  knowledge 
of  any  way  of  escape  across  the  Braux,  but  the  one  by 
which  I  came  out ;  hence,  I  was  induced  to  disguise  myself, 
by  taking  out  my  cockade,  lopping  the  sides  of  my  hat,  and 
securing  my  sword  and  pistols  under  my  overcoat;  and 
then  had  I  been  taken  under  this  disguise,  the  probability 
is  that  I  should  have  been  hanged  for  a  spy." 

It  was  as  late  as  the  29th,  before  the  enemy  advanced  in 
front  of  the  American  lines  at  White  Plains.  About  10 
o'clock,  A.  M.,  Col.  Putnam  had  arrived  on  Chatterton 
hill,  intending  to  throw  up  some  defenses,  just  as  they 
came  in  sight.  As  soon  as  they  discovered  the  Americans, 
they  opened  a  severe  cannonade,  but  without  much  effect. 
Gen.  McDougal  now  arrived  with  his  brigade,  and  seeing 
the  enemy  crossing  the  Braux  below  in  large  bodies-  placed 
his  men  in  an  advantageous  position  behind  the  stone  walls 
and  fences  to  receive  them.  They  were  twice  repulsed  with 
great  los3 ;  but  by  bringing  up  fresh  detachments,  they  so 
greatly  outnumbered  the  Americans  as  to  turn  their  right 
Hank,  and  cause  them  to  retreat.  Our  loss  was  great,  but 
it  was  afterward  ascertained  that  the  British  loss  was  much 
greater;  they  receiving  the  same  pay  as  at  Bunker  hill. 
After  the  battle  of  the  29th,  Col.  Putnam  was  employed  in 


•      RUFUS    PUTNAM.  65 

examining  the  topography  of  the  country  in  the  rear  of 
White  Plains,  toward  North  Castle,  Croton  river,  &c,  with 
a  view  to  military  operations,  when,  on  the  5th  of  Novem- 
ber, he  received  the  following  letter  from  Gen.  Washington : 
"Head  Quarters,  White  Plains,  Nov.  5,  1776. 
Sir  :  You  are  directed  to  repair  to  Wright's  mills,  and 
lay  out  any  work  there  you  conceive  to  be  necessary,  in  case 
it  is  not  already  done.  From  thence  you  are  to  proceed  to- 
ward Croton  bridge,  and  post  the  two  regiments  of  militia 
in  the  most  advantageous  manner,  so  as  to  obstruct  the 
enemy's  passage  to  that  quarter.  You  are  also  to  give 
what  directions  you  think  proper  to  those  regiments,  re- 
specting the  breaking  up  the  roads  leading  from  the  North 
river  eastward.  After  this  you  are  to  go  up  to  Peekskill, 
and  direct  Lasher's  detachment  to  break  up  the  roads  there; 
you  are  likewise  to  lay  out  what  works  will  be  advisable 
there,  and  order  them  to  be  set  about. 

Given  under  my  hand, 

Geo.  Washington. 
To  Col.  Putnam,  engineer." 

On  the  11th  of  November,  Gen.  Washington  visited 
Peekskill,  and  Col.  Putnam  accompanied  him  to  Fort  Wash- 
ington. On  the  following  day  he  crossed  the  North  river, 
instructing  him  to  ascertain  the  topography  of  the  country, 
with  the  roads  and  passes  through  the  Highlands,  which  re- 
port he  soon  after  made.  A  copy  of  this  report  is  among 
his  papers,  and  gives  a  minute  description  of  the  different 
passes ;  pointing  out  such  as  would  need  protection,  with  a 
skeleton  map,  containing  valuable  information  for  the  de- 
fense of  the  passes  in  the  Highlands  of  the  Hudson,  a  point 
so  important  in  the  contest  with  Great  Britain.  On  the  8th 
of  December,  he  addressed  a  letter  to  the  commander-in- 
chief,  informing  him  that  he  had  accepted  the  command  of 
a  regiment  in  the  Massachusetts  line,  of  the  continental 


66  RUFUS    PUTNAM. 

army,  with  his  reasons  for  so  doing,  assuring  him  at  the 
same  time  of  his  attachment  and  readiness  to  execute  any 
service  he  should  be  ordered  on.  The  following  is  an  ex- 
tract from  his  answer : 

"Bucks  County,  near  Cavell's  Ferry,  Dec.  17,  1776. 
Dear  Sir:  Your  letter  of  the  8th,  from  Peekskill,  came 
duly  to  hand.  Your  acceptance  of  a  regiment,  to  be  raised 
on  continental  establishment,  by  the  state  of  Massachusetts 
bay,  is  quite  agreeable  to  me,  and  I  sincerely  wish  you  suc- 
cess in  recruiting,  and  much  honor  in  commanding  it. 

Your  professions  of  attachment  are  extremely  gratifying 
to,  dear  sir,  your  most  obedient  servant, 

Geo.  Washington." 
In  a  letter  to  Congress,  of  December  20th,  he  thus  speaks 
of  Col.  Putnam:  "I  have  also  to  mention,  that  for  want  of 
some  establishment  in  the  department  of  engineers,  agree- 
able to  the  plan  laid  before  Congress  in  October  last,  Col. 
Putnam,  who  was  at  the  head  of  it,  has  quitted,  and  taken  a 
regiment  in  the  state  of  Massachusetts.  I  know  of  no  other 
man  tolerably  well  qualified  for  the  conducting  of  that  busi- 
ness. None  of  the  French  gentlemen  whom  I  have  seen 
with  appointments  in  that  way,  appear  to  know  anything 
of  the  matter.  There  is  one  in  Philadelphia  who  I  am  told 
is  clever,  but  him  I  have  not  seen." 

After  closing  his  accounts  as  engineer,  in  January,  1777, 
he  returned  to  Massachusetts  to  recruit  and  fill  up  his  regi- 
ment. In  this  he  was  quite  successful.  As  early  as  May, 
three  companies  were  filled,  and  marched  from  Worcester  to 
Peekskill ;  and  in  June  were  ordered  up  the  North  river  to 
Fort  Ann.  On  the  3d  of  July,  Col.  Putnam  followed  with 
the  rest  of  the  regiment,  and  joined  his  brigade,  at  a  point 
four  miles  above  Fort  Edward.  This  gave  him  an  opportu- 
nity to  examine  the  condition  of  the  old  fort,  which  he  had 
so  often  visited  and  worked  on  in  the  former  war.    He  found 


RUFUS    PUTNAM.  67 

that  in  the  last  seventeen  years,  it  had  greatly  decayed,  and 
was  quite  untenable  as  a  work  of  defense ;  nevertheless  it 
was  shortly  after  occupied  by  the  troops  of  Gen.  Burgoyne 
for  a  few  days,  probably  the  last  time  the  British  flag  will 
ever  float  near  its  walls. 

The  campaign  of  1777,  was  big  with  events  deeply  inter- 
esting to  the  United  States.  Burgoyne  with  a  large  army 
had  invaded  New  York  from  the  north,  pursuing  the  old 
route  so  often  traversed  in  former  years  by  the  hostile  bands 
of  France  and  Great  Britain.  The  hordes  of  savages  which 
accompanied  his  army  made  the  resemblance  still  more 
striking.  A  numerous  body  of  men  and  shipping,  under 
Clinton,  assailed  the  same  state  on  the  south,  by  the  way 
of  the  North  river,  intending  to  unite  the  invading  armies 
at  Albany,  and  thus  divide  the  eastern  from  the  middle  and 
southern  states.  Ticonderoga,  considered  the  key  to  the 
northern  portion  of  the  union,  had  fallen  into  the  hands  of 
the  enemy ;  but  the  lives  and  the  liberty  of  the  army  which 
occupied  it,  were  saved  from  the  hands  of  the  conqueror,  by 
the  good  sense  of  Gens.  St.  Clair  and  Schuyler,  who  thought 
it  useless  to  defend  an  untenable  post,  and  thus  served  as  a 
nucleus,  around  which  to  rally  the  militia  and  continentals, 
who  hastened  from  all  parts  to  arrest  the  progress  of  the 
enemy.  New  England  was  electrified  at  the  threatened 
danger,  and  poured  forth  the  thousands  of  her  hardy  yeo- 
manry from  her  granite  hills,  to  meet  the  coming  storm. 

Col.  Putnam,  with  his  brave  Massachusetts  men,  again 
traversed  the  grounds  he  had  so  often  visited  in  the  "  old 
French  war ; "  familiar  with  every  part  from  Fort  Edward  to 
Stillwater,  while  few  if  any  of  his  officers  or  men  had  seen 
this  part  of  the  country  before.  Although  he  was  busily 
engaged  in  all  the  military  operations  of  September,  in  the 
contests  with  Burgoyne,  his  regiment  being  the  earliest  on 
the  ground,  yet  he  has  left  no  record  of  these  events,  except 


68  RUFUS    PUTNAM. 

to  correct  some  misstatements  made  by  the  historians  of  that 
period,  in  relation  to  the  storming  the  works  of  the  German 
reserve,  on  the  7th  of  October,  and  a  few  other  matters. 
In  front  of  those  works  was  an  open  field,  bounded  by  a 
wood,  at  the  distance  of  one  hundred  and  twenty  yards.  In 
the  skirt  of  this  wood  Col.  Putnam  was  posted  with  the  fifth 
and  sixth  regiments  of  the  Massachusetts  line,  under  his 
command.  Both  the  right  and  left  of  their  work  was  cov- 
ered by  a  thin,  open  wood,  and  the  rear  by  a  thick  wood. 
The  moment  that  orders  were  given  to  storm,  he  moved 
rapidly  across  the  open  field,  amidst  a  murderous  fire  of 
grape  and  musketry,  and  entered  the  works  in  front,  at  the 
same  moment  that  Learned's  brigade,  in  which  Jackson's 
regiment  was  stationed,  entered  on  the  left  and  rear.  Col. 
Putnam  immediately  formed  his  two  regiments,  and  moved 
out  of  the  works,  which  were  not  inclosed  in  the  rear,  and 
advanced  into  the  wood,  toward  the  enemy's  inclosed  re- 
doubts, on  the  right  flank  of  their  main  encampment.  Gen. 
Learned,  as  soon  as  he  had  secured  and  sent  off  the  plun- 
der taken  in  the  German  camp,  withdrew  all  the  other 
troops,  without  notifying  Col.  Putnam  of  his  design,  leaving 
him  unprotected  in  the  occupancy  of  the  wood.  Here  he 
remained  until  toward  morning,  when  he  was  reinforced 
with  three  regiments  from  the  right  wing  of  the  army,  under 
Gen.  Glover. 

The  historian  Marshall's  account,  varies  materially  from 
this.  He  says,  "Jackson's  regiment  of  Massachusetts,  led 
by  Lieut.  Col.  Brooks,  turned  the  right  of  the  encampment, 
and  stormed  the  works."  In  this  account  no  mention  is 
made  of  Brig.  Learned,  who  stormed  at  the  same  time  with 
the  other  corps  of  the  brigade,  as  well  as  Jackson's ;  nor  of 
the  two  regiments  under  Col.  Putnam,  who  stormed  in  front, 
under  much  greater  exposure  than  Jackson.  Again,  Mar- 
shall says,  "  Brooks  maintained  the  ground  he  had  gained;" 


RUFUS    PUTNAM.  69 

which  is  entirely  contrary  to  the  truth ;  for,  except  the  two 
regiments  commanded  by  Col.  Putnam,  the  troops  which 
entered  the  works  were  in  great  disorder,  so  far  as  fell  un- 
der his  observation ;  nor  did  he  see  any  of  them  formed  in 
order  for  action,  before  he  moved  out  with  the  fifth  and  sixth 
regiments,  as  above  stated. 

At  page  288,  of  the  3d  volume,  is  a  note  from  the  histo- 
rian Gordon,  who  says  that,  "On  the  morning  of  the  11th 
of  October,  a  report  was  spread  in  the  American  camp,  and 
believed  by  the  officers,  that  the  main  body  of  Burgoyne's 
army  had  marched  away  in  the  night  for  Fort  Edward,  leav- 
ing only  a  rear-guard  in  the  camp,  which  was  to  march  as 
soon  as  possible,  leaving  only  their  heavy  baggage.  On 
this,  it  was  decided  to  advance,  and  attack  the  camp  in  half 
an  hour;  and  the  officers  repaired  to  their  respective  com- 
mands. Gen.  Nixon's  being  the  oldest  brigade,  crossed  the 
creek  first.  Unknown  to  the  Americans,  Burgoyne  had 
formed  a  line  behind  a  parcel  of  brushwood,  to  support  the 
park  of  artillery,  where  the  attack  was  to  be  made.  Gen. 
Glover  was  on  the  point  of  following  Nixon ;  just  as  he  en- 
tered the  water,  he  saw  a  British  soldier  making  across, 
wThom  he  called  and  examined."  This  soldier  was  a  de- 
serter, and  communicated  the  important  fact,  that  the  whole 
British  army  was  in  their  encampment.  Nixon  was  imme- 
diately stopped,  and  the  intelligence  conveyed  to  Gen.  Gates, 
who  commanded  the  order  for  the  assault,  and  called  back 
the  troops,  not  without  sustaining  some  loss  from  the  British 
artillery. 

Col.  Putnam's  account  of  this  affair  is  as  follows  :  "  Nix 
on's  brigade  was  put  in  motion,  and  marched  in  close  col- 
umn to  the  creek,  just  as  the  fog  broke  away,  when  the 
whole  park  of  British  artillery  opened  upon  us,  at  not  more 
than  five  hundred  yards  distance.  Finding  we  were  halted, 
I  rode  forward  to  the  head  of  the  brigade,  to  inquire  why  we 


70  BUFUS    PUTNAM. 

stood  there  in  that  exposed  situation.  But  Nixon  was  not 
to  be  found,  and  Col.  Greaton,  who  commanded  the  leading 
regiment,  paid  he  had  no  orders.  I  then  advised  the  cross- 
ing the  creek,  and  covering  the  troops  under  the  bank,  which 
was  done.  I  then,  at  the  request  of  Col.  Stephens,  advanced 
with  my  regiment  across  the  plain,  and  posted  them  under 
cover  of  the  bank  of  an  old  stockade  fort,  while  Stephens 
advanced  with  two  field  pieces,  to  annoy  the  British,  who 
were  attempting  to  take  away  some  baggage  wagons  stand- 
ing about  midway  between  us  and  the  British  battery.  We 
remained  in  this  situation  about  an  hour,  when  I  had  or- 
ders to  retreat,  and  found  Nixon  near  the  church,  and  after 
some  debate,  obtained  leave  to  send  a  party  and  cut  away 
the  British  boats,  which  lay  above  the  mouth  of  the  creek. 
Capt.  Morse,  Goodale,  and  Gates,  with  seventy  or  eighty 
volunteers,  started  on  this  service,  and  effected  it  without 
any  loss."  This  plain  statement  puts  the  affair  in  a  differ- 
ent position,  and  shows  that  but  for  the  promptness  and 
bravery  of  Putnam  in  this  unexpected  dilemma,  the  loss  of 
the  Americans  must  have  been  much  greater.  The  bold 
act  of  cutting  loose  Burgoyne's  store-boats,  in  the  face  of 
his  army,  was  of  his  suggesting,  and  accomplished  chiefly 
through  the  fearless  activity  of  Capt.  Goodale,  who  was 
noted  for  daring  exploits. 

Kosciusko,  the  philanthropic  and  brave  Folander,  who 
volunteered  his  services  in  the  cause  of  American  freedom, 
was  placed  at  the  head  of  the  engineering  corps  in  Gates' 
army,  and  often  consulted  Col.  Putnam  in  planning  the 
works  of  defense  and  offense,  so  necessary  in  the  operations 
of  hostile  armies.  He  remained  in  the  northern  department 
until  the  surrender  of  Burgoyne,  which  took  place  a  few- 
days  after  the  last  adventure,  on  the  lGth  of  October;  thus 
closing  the  career  of  this  haughty  Briton,  who  fancied  he 
could  march  his  invinciblcs  from  Ticondcroga  to  Albany,  in 


RUFUS    PUTNAM.  71 

defiance  of  all  the  efforts  of  "the  rebels,"  the  common  name 
for  the  Americans,  and  there  unite  his  triumphant  columns 
with  those  of  Sir  Henry  Clinton.  This  was  the  most  glo- 
rious event  that  had  yet  attended  the  arms  of  the  United 
States,  and  infused  new  life  into  the  desponding  portion  of 
the  community.  They  learned,  by  actual  experience,  that 
British  regulars  were  not  invincible,  while  their  enemies 
were  taught  to  respect  a  foe  they  had  heretofore  despised. 
After  the  cessation  of  hostilities  in  this  quarter,  Nixon's 
brigade,  to  which  Col.  Putnam  belonged,  went  into  winter 
quarters  at  Albany. 

In  January,  1778,  he  received  a  message  from  Gov.  Clin- 
ton and  Gen.  Israel  Putnam,  requesting  him  to  repair  to 
West  Point,  and  superintend  the  fortifications  proposed  to 
be  erected  at  this  American  Gibraltar.  He  declined  the 
offer,  unless  his  regiment  was  allowed  to  go  with  him,  ex- 
cept at  the  express  orders  of  Gen.  Washington.  A  French 
engineer  had  been  sent  by  Congress,  to  plan  and  execute 
the  works  proposed  to  be  erected;  but  his  views  were  not 
approved  by  Gov.  Clinton  and  the  general  officers,  as  suited 
to  what  they  deemed  necessary,  and  hence  arose  the  con- 
fusion and  delay,  noticed  in  Gen.  Washington's  letter  to 
Congress,  of  the  13th  of  March,  1778. 

In  February  he  succeeded  Col.  Greaton  in  the  command 
of  the  troops  in  the  northern  department,  who  went  home  on 
furlough.  It  seems  that  Congress,  without  consulting  the 
commander-in-chief,  had  matured  a  plan  for  a  winter 
campaign  into  Canada,  which  was  now  left  in  a  manner, 
defenseless.  The  chief  duty  of  Col.  Putnam  was  to  forward 
provisions  and  military  stores  to  Coos,  on  the  Onion  river, 
by  which  route  the  army  of  invasion  was  to  pass,  as  early 
as  the  20th  of  February.  The  sound  mind  of  the  Colonel  at 
once  perceived  the  fallacy  and  impossibility  of  the  project. 
The  country  was  covered  with  a  deep  snow,  and^the  soldiers, 


72  RUFUS    PUTNAM. 

as  usual,  only  half  clothed,  and  entirely  unprepared  for  a 
winter  campaign.  This  was  always  a  serious  difficulty 
during  the  whole  war ;  our  armies  were  never  decently  clad, 
and  the  poverty  of  the  country  was  seen  in  their  tattered 
garments  and  shoeless  feet.  When  men  were  required  by 
Col.  Hazelet,  the  quarter-master-general,  to  open  a  road, 
he  had  the  firmness  to  refuse  him,  on  account  of  the  inclem- 
ency of  the  weather,  and  the  destitute  condition  of  his  men. 

About  this  time,  the  10th  or  12th  of  February,  the  Marquis 
Lafayette,  who  was  to  command  the  army  of  invasion, 
arrived  at  Albany,  with  the  Baron  de  Kalb.  After  a  careful 
inspection  of  the  troops,  he  confirmed  the  views  of  Col. 
Putnam,  and  the  expedition  was  abandoned;  and  fortunate 
for  the  country  was  it  that  they  did  so,  for  this  was  not  a 
war  of  offense,  but  of  defense  ;  and  whenever  the  Americans 
left  their  own  soil,  disaster  and  defeat  followed  their  steps ; 
but  so  long  as  they  confined  their  operations  to  justice  and 
to  right,  the  God  of  armies  and  of  justice  was  on  their  side. 

In  March  following,  he  was  ordered  with  his  regiment 
down  to  West  Point,  where  his  valuable  services  were  re- 
quired to  lay  out  and  superintend  the  construction  of  fortifi- 
cations at  that  important  place,  and  Gen.  McDougal,  who 
had  been  appointed  to  the  command,  arrived  about  the  same 
time.  Of  all  the  foreign  engineers  who  had  been  sought  out 
and  employed,  not  one  had  yet  been  found,  with  the  sound 
judgment  and  practical  skill  of  this  untaught  American. 
The  strong  mind  and  calm  considerate  reflection  of  Putnam 
took  in  at  once  the  commanding  points  of  the  positions  to 
be  fortified,  and  his  practical  skill  soon  accomplished  what 
his  genius  had  projected.  He  found  the  foreign  engineers' 
main  fort  laid  out  on  an  extreme  point  next  the  river,  and 
commanded  by  the  adjacent  liigh  grounds.  It  was  aban- 
doned for  this  purpose,  and  a  simple  battery  placed  there  to 
annoy  the  enemy's  shipping,  should  they  attempt  to  turn  the 


RUFUS    PUTNAM.  73 

point  and  force  the  boom  placed  a  little  higher  up  As  a 
defense  against  an  attack  by  land,  a  chain  of  forts  and 
redoubts  was  laid  out  on  the  high  ground,  bordering  the  plain, 
which  forms  the  point  that  gives  name  to  the  place.  The 
principal  fort  was  built  by  Putnam's  own  regiment,  and 
named  by  Gen.  McDougal,  "  Fort  Putnam."  It  stands  on 
an  elevated  rocky  eminence,  which  commands  both  the  plain 
and  point.  This  rock  slopes  gradually  on  to  the  plain,  on 
one  side,  while  to  the  assailants  it  presents  a  mural  front  of 
fifty  feet  perpendicular.  It  was  subsequently  strengthened 
with  additional  works  and  made  a  very  formidable  place. 
These  defenses  occupied  him.  until  June,  when  he  joined  the 
division  of  the  army  under  Gen.  Gates  at  Peekskill,  and  on 
the  24th  of  July  united  with  the  grand  army  under  Gen. 
Washington,  at  White  Plains.  By  his  orders  he  reconnoi- 
tered  the  country  about  Fredericksburg,  Quaker  hill,  &c, 
making  plans  and  sketches  for  the  use  of  the  commander. 
On  the  16th  of  September,  the  main  army  was  broken 
into  divisions  and  posted  at  different  places.  The  division 
to  which  he  was  attached  under  Gen.  Gates,  marched  to 
Danbury,  Connecticut.  While  here  he  was  directed  by  Gen. 
McDougal  to  examine  the  roads  and  passes  from  New  Mil- 
ford,  leading  eastward,  which  service  he  accomplished,  and 
made  his  report  to  him.  Soon  after  this  he  received  the 
following  letter  from  Gen.  Washington  : 

"Head  Quarters,  Oct.  9th,  1778. 
Sir  :  I  have  perused  your  report  of  this  day  to  Gen.  Mc- 
Dougal. You  will  continue  your  examination  of  the  differ- 
ent roads,  &c,  reconnoiter  the  most  convenient  halting 
Dlaces  on  each;  allowing  the  interval  of  one  day's  march 
from  one  to  the  other,  and  make  report  of  the  whole  to  me, 
that  I  may  be  enabled  to  regulate  the  different  routes.  The 
road  toward  Litchfield  offers,  from  your  account  of  it,  to  be 


74  RUFUS  PUTNAM. 

worth  attention,  and  Col.  Hall  should  be  directed  to  proceed 
on  it  accordingly. 

I  am,  sir,  your  obedient  servant, 

G.  Washington. 

Col.  Putnam." 

In  answer  to  this  letter  he  made  a  lengthy  and  very  par- 
ticular report,  exhibiting  his  tact  and  sound  judgment  in 
such  services,  for  which  he  was  naturally  constituted. 

Previous  to  making  the  final  arrangements  for  winter  quar- 
ters, he  made  a  tour  of  reconnoisance  with  Gen.  Greene,  in 
the  vicinity  of  the  Hudson  river.  Late  in  December  Nixon's 
brigade  took  up  their  winter  station  in  the  Highlands,  on  the 
road  from  Peekskill  to  Fishkill.  Nixon  left  the  brigade  on 
furlough,  and  it  was  placed  under  Col.  Putnam  for  the 
winter.  Early  in  February  the  brigade  was  ordered  to  leave 
their  quarters.  Col.  Putnam's  regiment  was  directed  to 
march  to  Croton  river,  and  build  a  bridge  across  that 
stream,  which  was  completed  about  the  last  of  March,  and 
was  all  extra  service,  for  which  no  additional  pay  was  given. 

At  this  time  he  had  a  furlough  to  visit  his  family,  where 
he  had  not  been  since  December,  1777.  This  was  an  in- 
convenience under  which  the  most  useful  officers  labored ; 
they  could  not  be  spared  from  the  service,  while  the  less 
valuable  procured  leave  of  absence  more  readily.  The 
families  of  many  of  the  New  England  officers,  high  in  com- 
mand, were  in  poor  circumstances,  and  required  all  the  in- 
dustry and  foresight  of  their  calculating  wives  to  keep  their 
families  in  comfortable  circumstances  during  their  absence. 
Mrs.  Putnam  and  the  children,  the  oldest  not  more  than 
twelve  or  fourteen  years,  lived  on  a  small  farm  of  fifty  acres 
of  rather  sterile  land  ;  while  so  poor  and  uncertain  was  the 
pay  of  the  soldier,  and  in  1779,  so  depreciated  in  value,  that 
had  it  not  been  for  the  assiduous  application  of  the  needle 


RUFUS    PUTNAM.  75 

by  this  patriotic  woman,  her  children  would  sometimes  have 
been  very  poorly  supplied  with  food.  It  was  common  in 
those  days,  which  tried  the  souls  of  women  as  well  as  of 
men,  for  females  in  some  of  the  best  families,  to  make  gar- 
ments gratuitously  for  the  soldiers  sent  from  their  vicinity, 
while  many  of  them  made  also  for  their  neighbors  less 
skilled  in  the  art,  for  which  they  received  produce  or  conti- 
nental paper  in  exchange.  Mrs.  Putnam  was  one  of  this 
class;  and  let  it  be  remembered  to  her  honor  and  praise, 
that  she  labored  diligently  with  her  hands,  both  at  the  distaff 
and  needle,  like  the  virtuous  woman  of  old,  for  the  support 
of  her  household,  while  he  who  should  have  been  their  pro- 
vider was  absent,  devoting  his  time  to  the  cause  of  freedom, 
and  fighting  the  battles  of  his  country.  Many  interesting 
anecdotes  are  yet  remembered  and  related  by  the  family,  of 
the  frugality  and  industry  practiced  during  this  cruel  war, 
for  their  support. 

During  his  absence,  Fort  Fayette,  on  Verplank's  Point, 
was  taken  by  the  British.  It  was  commanded  by  Capt. 
Armstrong,  and  surrendered  to  overwhelming  numbers. 

Toward  the  last  of  June,  Col.  Putnam  returned  to  camp,  and 
in  a  few  days  received  the  following  order  from  Gen.  Heath : 
"  Highlands,  Danforth's  House,  June  29,  1779. 

Sir:  lam  very  desirous,  if  possible,  to  obtain  the  exact 
situation  of  the  enemy  on  Verplank's  Point,  and  of  the  ves- 
sels in  the  river.  As  you  are  well  acquainted  with  the 
ground  on  both  sides  of  the  river,  I  would  request  that  you 
would,  to-morrow,  reconnoiter  the  enemy  with  due  precau- 
tion, and  make  such  remarks  as  you  may  think  proper. 
You  will  take  a  part,  or  the  whole  of  your  own  light  infantry 
company  as  a  guard.  Your  knowledge  of  the  country,  and 
abilities,  render  particular  instructions  unnecessary. 

Yours,  &c, 

Wm.  Heath. 

Col.  Putnam." 


76  RUFUS    PUTNAM. 

To  execute  this  order,  he  had  to  march  through  the  moun- 
tains about  twenty  miles,  by  an  unfrequented  route,  and  to 
prevent  discovery,  conceal  his  men  in  the  woods.  This  duty 
was  successfully  performed ;  but  the  report  is  mislaid.  Soon 
after  his  return,  he  received  the  following  note  from  his  ex- 
cellency, the  commander-in-chief: 

"  Col.  Putnam  has  permission  to  take  as  many  men  as  he 
chooses,  of  his  own  regiment,  or  any  other,  for  special  ser- 
vice, and  to  pass  all  guards. 

G.  Washington. 

July  9,  1779." 

The  "special  service"  here  intended,  was  to  reconnoiter 
the  posts  on  Verplank's  and  Stony  Points,  previous  to  the 
meditated  assault  on  those  places.  For  this  purpose,  Col. 
Putnam  left  Constitution  island,  opposite  to  West  Point,  in 
the  afternoon  of  the  10th,  with  fifty  men,  and  landed  at 
Continental  village  about  sunset.  Soon  after  dark,  he  pro- 
ceeded, by  a  back  road,  to  a  point  near  the  scene  of  his 
intended  observations,  and  concealed  his  men,  as  before,  in 
the  woods.  In  a  short  time  it  began  to  rain,  and  continued 
all  the  next  day,  a  part  of  which  time  they  lay  in  a  barn. 
On  the  12th  it  was  fair,  but  their  ammunition  was  all  wet, 
and  he  retired  a  little  distance,  to  a  deserted  house,  built  a 
fire,  and  dried  their  powder,  which  occupied  nearly  all  day, 
leaving  the  party,  had  they  been  attacked,  entirely  de- 
fenseless. That  evening  he  approached  nearer  the  works, 
concealed  his  men,  and  commenced  reconnoitering  their 
condition.  With  one  or  two  soldiers,  who  were  familiar 
with  the  location,  he  continued  his  labor  until  near  morn- 
ing, creeping  on  his  hands  and  knees,  to  avoid  detection  by 
the  sentries,  when  very  near  the  works.  He  ascertained  the 
time  of  night  by  the  aid  of  fire-flies,  which  are  abundant 
at  that  season,  and  whose  phosphorescent  light  enabled  him 
to  distinguish  the  hours  on  his  watch.     By  the  approach  of 


RUFUS    PUTNAM.  77 

early  dawn,  he  had  completed  his  observations,  and  returned 
undiscovered  to  camp,  on  the  13th.  The  following  day,  a 
full  and  very  intelligent  report  of  the  service  was  made  to 
Gen.  Washington;  a  copy  of  which  is  now  among  his  manu- 
scripts, and  no  doubt  contributed  greatly  to  the  success  of 
the  attack  on  Stony  Point,  which  immediately  followed.  In 
relation  to  the  statement  made  by  Marshall,  that  "two  brig- 
ades under  the  command  of  Gen.  McDougal,  had  been  or- 
dered to  approach  the  enemy  on  the  east  side  of  the  river, 
&c," — he  doubts  whether  such  an  order  was  ever  given,  for 
the  reason,  that  McDougal  commanded  the  post  of  West 
Point,  and  would  not  be  allowed  to  leave  so  important  a 
station.  He  further  says,  that  when  he  waited  on  Gen. 
Washington,  to  make  his  report  of  the  reconnoisance  on  the 
14th,  he  told  him  that  he  had  relinquished  the  plan  of  an 
actual  attack  on  Verplank's,  simultaneously  with  that  on 
Stony  Point,  but  intended  only  to  make  a  feint ;  and  for  that 
purpose  had  ordered  Nixon's  brigade  to  march,  that  day,  to 
Continental  village.  He  then  instructed  Col.  Putnam  to 
take  as  many  men  from  the  brigade  as  he  thought  proper, 
and  make  arrangements  to  be  on  the  ground,  ready  to  fire 
on  the  enemy  at  Verplank's,  the  moment  he  discovered  that 
Wayne  had  begun  his  attack  on  Stony  Point.  At  the  same 
time,  he  told  him  that  no  one  was  aware  of  the  intended 
attack,  but  those  who  were  intrusted  with  its  execution,  and 
that  but  one  of  his  own  family  was  in  the  secret.  From 
some  error  in  the  orders,  Nixon's  brigade  did  not  march  as 
expected;  but  on  the  evening  of  the  15th,  Col.  Putnam  left 
Continental  village,  with  Lieut.  Col.  Smith,  and  a  detach- 
ment of  men,  for  Verplank's,  and  made  the  feigned  attack, 
by  firing  on  the  outer  block-house  and  the  guard  stationed 
at  the  creek,  which  alarmed  the  garrison  of  Fort  Fayette 
for  their  own  safety,  and  prevented  their  turning  their  guns 
on  the  Americans  in  their  attack  on  Stony  Point.     This  was 


78  RUFUS    PUTNAM. 

all  that  was  intended  to  be  done  on  that  night.  On  the 
morning  of  the  10th,  he  remained  in  full  view  of  the  enemy 
until  eight  or  nine  o'clock,  and  then  returned  to  Continental 
village.  In  the  course  of  that  day,  Nixon's  and  Patterson's 
brigades  arrived  at  the  village,  but  without  field  pieces,  ar- 
tillery men,  axes,  or  tools.  About  ten  o'clock  at  night,  Gen. 
Howe  arrived,  and  took  the  command.  He  called  on  Col. 
Putnam  for  information,  who  told  him  of  the  need  of  artil- 
lery, &c.,  to  attack  the  block-house  in  advance  of  the  main 
works,  and  that  they  could  not  cross  the  creek  without  re- 
building the  bridge,  which  had  been  destroyed.  On  the 
17th,  two  twelve  pounders  arrived;  but  before  any  attack 
was  made,  the  approach  of  a  numerous  body  of  the  enemy, 
for  the  relief  the  post,  caused  the  Americans  to  retreat,  and 
Fort  Fayette  remained  in  the  hands  of  the  British.  Stony 
Point  was  also  abandoned  in  a  short  time,  and  fell  into  their 
possession ;  so  that  no  advantage  was  gained,  but  the  cap- 
ture of  six  hundred  prisoners,  and  the  glory  of  the  victory. 
It  infused  fresh  spirits  into  the  country,  and  convinced  their 
enemies  that  no  danger  was  too  great,  or  achievement  too 
difficult  for  them  to  overcome. 

In  a  short  time  after  these  events,  Col.  Putnam  was  ap- 
pointed to  the  command  of  a  regiment  of  light  infantry,  in 
the  brigade  of  Gen.  Wayne,  composed  of  four  regiments. 
This  body  of  men  was  the  elite  of  the  army,  and  the  officers 
selected  by  the  advice  of  Gen.  Wayne,  composing  as  effi- 
cient a  corps  as  the  world  ever  saw.  He  continued  in  ser- 
vice this  year,  until  the  army  had  generally  gone  into  winter 
quarters,  and  did  not  reach  the  station  in  the  Highlands, 
where  bis  regiment  was  cantoned,  until  January,  1780; 
marching  through  the  ice  and  snow  from  near  Newark,  in 
New  Jersey,  being  a  very  tedious  and  fatiguing  journey. 
During  1779,  he  was  ordered  on  extra  service,  to  erect  a 
battery  on  the  ground  of  old  Fort  Montgomery,  for  the 


RUFUS    PUTNAM.  79 

annoyance  of  the  enemy's  ships  on  the  Hudson ;  and  again, 
in  December,  by  order  of  Gen.  Wayne,  he  reconnoitered  the 
position  of  a  British  fleet  at  South  Amboy,  accompanied  by 
eight  dragoons,  to  learn  the  time  of  their  sailing.  This 
was  promptly  performed  amidst  the  cold  and  inclemency  of 
December  weather,  and  returned  to  camp  by  the  way  of 
New  Brunswick.  A  number  of  letters  from  Gen.  Wayne 
are  on  his  file. 

The  latter  part  of  the  winter  1780,  he  had  leave  of  ab- 
sence to  visit  his  family,  and  returned  to  camp  in  April.  As 
early  as  the  6th  of  May  he  was  on  command  with  an  ad- 
vanced detachment  on  Croton  river,  watching  the  movements 
of  the  enemy.  This  was  a  fatiguing,  hazardous  duty,  re- 
quiring the  utmost  vigilance  in  the  commanding  officer,  and 
is  only  intrusted  to  men  of  tried  courage  and  cautious 
watchfulness.  It  is  considered  an  honorable  post,  and  the 
officer  selected  by  special  appointment  of  the  commanding 
general.  During  the  early  years  of  the  war  the  Americans 
suffered  severe  losses  in  their  detachments  on  this  service, 
not  only  at  Paoli,  but  at  various  other  places,  from  the  light 
dragoons  under  Tarlton  and  De  Lancy,  who  acquired  great 
honor  by  their  surprisals  of  our  advanced  posts,  although 
it  was  not  a  little  lessened  by  their  cruelty.  The  constant 
watchfulness  of  Col.  Putnam  saved  him  from  any  disaster 
of  this  kind,  as  may  be  seen  in  his  correspondence  with 
Gen.  Howe,  which  is  full,  minute,  and  voluminous,  and 
sometimes  accompanied  with  plans  and  drafts,  showing  the 
positions  of  the  different  detachments  of  the  enemy.  The 
following  letter  will  serve  as  a  specimen  of  his  style  and 
manner  in  this  line  : 

"Callaburg*  July  1,  1780. 

Dear  General  :    By  an  officer  returned  from  scout  last 

*  This  was  a  station  on  the  east  of  the  Hudson,  near  the  Highlands. 


80  RUF US    PUTNAM. 

evening,  and  other  intelligence,  I  am  informed  that  the 
enemy  some  day  this  week  advanced  in  force  by  land  from 
New  York,  and  are  now  encamped,  having  their  left  on  the 
North  river,  one  mile  above  Phillips',  and  their  right  on  the 
road  from  Stephen  Wards  to  Elberts.  By  this  position  their 
right  and  left  wings  are  about  five  miles  distant,  and  from 
the  nature  and  situation  of  the  country,  their  camps  are 
detached  or  separated;  their  left  division  being  on  Phillips' 
hill  between  North  river  and  Saw-Mill  river;  their  center 
division  on  Valentine's  hill,  between  Saw-Mill  river  and  the 
Braux ;  and  their  right  division  between  the  Braux  and 
East  Chester.  A  sketch  of  the  country  which  I  sent  you. 
and  what  I  have  said,  will  give  you  a  correct  idea  of  their 
position.  It  is  said,  and  I  believe  it  to  be  a  fact,  that  a 
number  of  wagons,  with  scythes  for  cutting  forage,  came 
out  yesterday.  I  think  if  it  be  true  that  a  French  fleet  is 
really  in  the  way,  Mr.  Clinton  has  come  out  to  give  his  troops 
an  airing,  after  their  fatigue  and  other  sufferings  in  a  southern 
climate ;  and  at  the  same  time,  has  a  design  to  secure  or 
destroy  all  the  forage  in  his  power,  which  might  otherwise 
be  of  advantage  to  us  ;  and  I  should  not  be  surprised  if  he 
attempted  a  general  ravage  of  the  country  as  far  as  Salem 
or  D anbury. 

I  am,  dear  general,  with  respect,  your  humble  servant, 

Rufus  Putnam. 

To  Gen.  Howe." 

During  the  campaign  of  1780,  no  great  battle  was  fought  in 
the  northern  department.  The  events  along  the  North  river 
were  mostly  skirmishes.  An  invasion  of  New  Jersey  was 
made  in  June,  by  Gen.  Knyphauscn,  in  which  he  was  so 
valiantly  opposed  by  the  American  troops,  that  he  retired 
without  accomplishing  much  but  the  destruction  of  buildings 
and  the  murder  of  Mrs.  Caldwell,  the  wife  of  a  clergyman, 
which  foul  deed  was  done  by  some  of  the  Tory  troops  of 


RUFUS    PUTNAM.  81 

Gov.  Try  on,  who  was  in  the  expedition.  Early  in  July,  Sir 
Henry  Clinton  returned  with  his  army  from  the  conquest  of 
Charleston,  S.  C,  and  made  demonstrations  of  an  attack 
on  West  Point,  but  nothing  was  accomplished. 

In  September,  the  foul  treason  of  Arnold  took  place,  by 
which  the  enemy  thought  to  obtain  possession  of  this  im- 
portant post,  in  a  more  easy  way  than  by  hard  fighting,  but 
not  half  so  honorable.  A  kind  Providence,  which  over- 
looked and  directed  the  American  affairs,  caused  this  wicked 
plan  to  be  discovered  in  time  to  prevent  its  execution ;  and 
the  country  was  thus  saved  from  threatened  ruin.  Soon 
after  this  affair,  Col.  Putnam  had  leave  of  absence,  and  re- 
turned to  camp  early  in  December.  On  the  6th  of  July, 
1781,  the  French  army,  which  had  been  sent  to  aid  us, 
formed  a  junction  with  the  Americans  near  Dobb's  Ferry, 
preparatory  to  marching  for  Virginia. 

On  the  21st  of  July,  Col.  Putnam  was  ordered  by  Gen. 
Heath  to  take  the  command  of  a  detachment  of  three  hun- 
dred light  infantry,  Col.  Sheldon's  legionary  corps,  with  two 
companies  of  the  New  York  levies,  and  one  piece  of  light 
artillery,  with  which  to  cover  that  part  of  the  country.  On 
this  duty  he  was  continued  until  the  last  of  October,  and 
thus  did  not  witness  the  surrender  of  Cornwallis  at  York- 
town.  While  here  employed,  he  received  the  following  let- 
ter from  Gen.  Waterbury,  of  Connecticut: 

"Horse  Neck,  September  13,  1781. 

Sir:  After  my  compliments,  I  would  inform  you  that  I 
have  received  orders  from  his  excellency,  Gov.  Trumbull,  to 
build  some  places  of  security  for  my  troops  to  winter  in, 
and,  at  the  same  time,  to  ask  the  favor  of  your  assistance, 
in  counseling  with  me  where  to  build,  &c." 

This  service  he  performed  as  requested.  In  November, 
he  joined  his  regiment  at  West  Point,  and  on  the  14th  of  that 
month,  received  the  following  order  from  Gen.  McDougal : 


82  RUFUS    PUTNAM. 

"Sir:  Gen.  McDougal  requests  you  to  repair  to  Stony 
and  Verplank's  Points,  and  examine  minutely  into  their 
state  in  every  respect.  The  sentry  boxes  at  those  advanced 
works  should  be  destroyed ;  every  building  within  cannon 
range  of  either  of  those  posts,  and  any  cover  that  would 
afford  a  lodgment  for  the  enemy,  must  be  taken  down,  and 
removed  before  you  leave  the  ground.  You  will  please  to 
have  the  garrisons  paraded,  and  note  ever}-  person,  and  the 
regiments  they  belong  to,  unfit  for  this  service,  &c." 

This  duty  was  faithfully  performed,  and  was  about  the 
last  of  his  military  labors ;  as  after  this  period,  hostilities,  in 
a  manner,  closed  between  the  two  nations,  in  the  northern 
states.  The  capture  of  Lord  Cornwallis,  and  the  victories 
of  Gen.  Greene  in  South  Carolina,  discouraged  Great  Brit- 
ain from  further  attempts  at  the  subjugation  of  the  United 
States.  He  was,  however,  still  busily  employed,  as  agent 
for  his  brother  officers,  in  interceding  with  Congress  and  the 
Legislature  of  Massachusetts,  for  a  redress  of  their  griev- 
ances, which  had  become  very  serious.  For  this  duty,  his 
stern  integrity,  candor,  honesty  of  purpose,  and  well  known 
character  for  usefulness  in  the  service  of  the  country,  emi- 
nently fitted  him.  His  first  employment  of  this  kind  was 
in  1778,  and  on  the  following  occasion : 

"At  a  meeting  of  the  field  and  other  officers  of  Gen.  Nix- 
on's brigade,  September  9,  1778,  Col.  Rufus  Putnam  was 
unanimously  chosen  representative,  to  meet  in  a  general 
convention  of  the  army,  to  state  our  grievances  to  the  hon- 
orable Continental  Congress,  and  endeavor  to  obtain  redress 
of  the  same. 

Per  order  of  the  meeting  : 

Tuos.  Nixon,  Col.,  Moderator." 
In  the  winter  of  1778-9,  the  sufferings  of  the  officers  and 
men  had  become   so  intolerable,  from  the  want   of  pay, 
clothing,  and  provisions,  that  the  patience  and  patriotism  of 


RUFUS    PUTNAM.  83 

even  the  Massachusetts  men,  was  put  to  so  severe  a  trial, 
that  they  had  well  nigh  failed  under  it.  Gen.  Nixon's  brig- 
ade, then  in  winter  quarters  in  the  Highlands,  had  formed 
articles  of  mutiny,  by  which,  on  a  certain  day,  they  were  to 
march  off  in  a  body.  A  copy  of  those  articles  was  some- 
how obtained  by  Col.  Putnam,  and  transmitted  to  Mr.  Davis, 
a  member  of  the  Legislature,  and  an  influential  man  in 
Boston.  Finding  his  own  personal  efforts,  and  those  few 
who  assisted  him,  unavailing  in  checking  this  disgraceful 
design,  Col.  Putnam  made  a  confidential  communication  to 
Gen.  McDougal,  of  their  intentions,  and  requested  him  to 
order  the  several  regiments  composing  the  brigade,  to  sepa- 
rate, and  occupy  distant  and  distinct  posts,  toward  New 
York.  This  the  general  immediately  complied  with,  and 
thus  put  it  out  of  their  power  to  execute  the  plan  they  had 
formed,  or  at  least  not  so  readily  as  they  could  have  done, 
when  all  in  a  body;  and  thus,  by  the  integrity  and  faithful- 
ness of  this  honest  and  upright  man,  was  this  sad  calamity 
averted ;  and  a  foul  blot  on  the  fair  escutcheon  of  his  native 
state  prevented. 

In  the  winter  of  1780,  while  on  a  furlough,  the  larger  por- 
tion of  his  time  was  spent  in  Boston,  soliciting  the  General 
Court,  or  Legislature  of  Massachusetts,  for  relief  in  aid  of 
their  troops,  and  especially  for  the  officers  who  were  prisoners 
on  Long  island.  For  the  latter  a  small  sum  was  obtained, 
for  which  he  received  their  thanks  in  a  letter  of  acknowledg- 
ment, through  Col.  Thompson,  dated  May  1st,  1780.  While 
for  the  officers  of  the  line  no  provision  was  made.  For  this 
reason,  at  the  close  of  the  year,  a  committee  was  appointed 
to  repair  to  Boston  and  lay  their  claims  before  the  Legisla- 
ture, with  the  following  instructions,  which  are  given,  in  part, 
that  posterity  may  judge  of  the  justice  of  their  cause. 

After  stating  a  number  of  their  grievances,  as  to  the  man- 
ner of  their  pay,  clothing,  small   stores,  &c,  under  three 


84 


RUFUS    PUTNAM. 


distinct  heads,  they  say,  "  You  will  pointedly  represent  to  the 
Legislature,  the  great  inconveniences  and  losses,  accrued  and 
accruing  to  great  part,  nay  almost  the  whole,  of  both  offi- 
cers and  soldiers,  from  the  notes  we  received  the  last  year, 
not  being  negotiable  in  any  manner  for  any  kind  of  property, 
on  which  account  many  were,  for  want  of  almost  every  kind 
of  clothing,  obliged  to  sell  their  notes  at  a  very  great  dis- 
count, from  their  nominal  value  when  given ;  and  by  this 
representation  you  will  endeavor  to  procure  an  act  that  will 
make  the  notes  already,  and  those  that  shall  be  given,  a 
tender  for  the  confiscated  estates  when  sold ;  or  that  will  in 
some  way  be  equally  beneficial  to  the  army  and  state  —  make 
them  of  such  value  that  those  who  wish  it  may  convert  them 
into  current  money  without  loss." 

The  whole  of  these  instructions  fill  two  or  three  pages, 
and  seem  to  have  been  signed  by  all  the  officers  of  the  Mas- 
sachusetts line.  It  is  dated  West  Point,  January  1st,  1781. 
The  names  of  the  committee  were  as  follows  :  Brig.  Gen. 
Glover,  Col.  Putnam,  Lieut.  Col.E.  Brooks,  Col.  H.  Jackson, 
Col.  J.  Graton,  Maj.  Samuel  Darbey,  S.  Larned  and  T. 
Edwards. 

To  fulfill  this  embassy  the  committee  left  West  Point  early 
in  January  and  passed  two  or  thee  months  in  Boston,  prose- 
cuting their  claims.  On  their  arrival,  the  recent  alarm  grow- 
ing out  of  the  mutiny  of  the  Pennsylvania  and  Jersey  lines 
had  created  such  an  alarm  in  the  minds  of  the  General  As- 
sembly, that  they  listened  favorably  to  the  committee  and 
actually  sent  on  two  months'  pay  in  specie  to  their  line  of  the 
army,  which  was  about  the  result  of  their  efforts.  It  relieved 
their  most  pressing  wants  and  pacified  the  distressed  soldiers 
for  a  time,  and  the  favorable  prospects  of  a  speedy  termina- 
tion of  the  war  closed  any  further  serious  difficulties  with 
the  Massachusetts  men. 

In  February,  1782,  the  state  of  New  York  having  applied 


KUFUS    PUTNAM.  85 

to  Congress  for  remuneration  for  the  forage  consumed  by 
the  allied  army  in  West  Chester  county,  while  encamped 
near  Dobb's  Ferry  in  1781,  he  was  appointed  by  Gen. 
Heath  and  Gov.  Clinton  one  of  the  commissioners  for  set- 
tling the  claim.  It  was  a  difficult  and  troublesome  affair, 
but  was  closed  in  July,  and  shows  the  confidence  of  those 
eminent  men  in  his  character,  for  sound  judgment  and  love 
of  justice.  After  this,  he  obtained  leave  of  absence  for  a 
short  time,  and  while  on  furlough,  heard  of  the  intention  of 
Congress  to  reduce  the  army. 

Being  tired  and  disgusted  with  much  of  the  treatment  he 
had  received  in  regard  to  promotion  in  the  Massachusetts 
line,  which  had  not  been  made  in  accordance  with  common 
usage  in  such  matters,  especially  as  to  the  brigadiers,  two  of 
which  were  vacant  and  neither  of  them  filled,  viz:  Gen. 
Learned's  in  1777,  and  Nixon's  in  1780,  added  to  which  the 
desire  he  felt  to  be  with  his  family  which  greatly  needed  his 
presence,  he  concluded  to  quit  the  service,  and  made  an  ar- 
rangement with  Lieut.  Col.  Brooks,  the  youngest  commander 
of  a  regiment  in  the  line,  and  would  of  course  be  deranged 
in  the  reduction,  to  remain,  and  let  Col.  Putnam  retire,  a 
a  mode  of  exchange  heretofore  practiced.  Under  these  cir- 
cumstances he  did  not  return  to  the  army  until  the  receipt 
of  the  following  letter  from  Gen.  Washington,  who  had  been 
informed  of  his  intentions  by  some  of  his  friends. 

"  Head  Quarters,  Newburg,  Dec.  2,  1782. 

Sir  :  I  am  informed  you  have  had  thoughts  of  retiring 
from  service,  upon  the  arrangement  which  is  to  take  place 
on  the  1st  of  January.  But  as  there  will  be  no  opening  for  it, 
unless  your  reasons  should  be  very  urgent  indeed ;  and  as 
there  are  some  prospects  which  may  perhaps  make  your 
continuing  more  eligible  than  was  expected,  I  have  thought 
proper  to  mention  the  circumstances,  in  expectation  they 
might  have  some  influence  in  inducing  you  to  remain  in  the 


86  RUFUS    PUTNAM. 

army.  Col.  Shepherd  having  retired  and  Brig.  Gen.  Pat- 
terson being  appointed  to  the  command  of  the  first  brigade, 
you  will  of  consequence  be  the  second  colonel  in  the  line 
and  have  the  command  of  a  brigade,  while  the  troops  con- 
tinue brigaded  as  at  present.  Besides  I  consider  it  expedi- 
ent you  should  be  acquainted,  that  the  question  is  yet  before 
Congress,  whether  there  shall  be  two  brigadiers  appointed  in 
the  Massachusetts  line.  Should  you  continue  you  will  be  a 
candidate  for  this  promotion.  The  secretary  at  war  is  of 
opinion  the  promotion  will  soon  take  place  —  whether  it  will 
or  not,  I  am  not  able  to  determine,  and,  therefore,  I  would  not 
flatter  you  too  much  with  expectations,  which  it  is  not  in  my 
power  to  gratify  —  but  if  upon  a  view  of  these  circumstances 
and  prospects,  the  state  of  your  affairs  will  permit  you  to  con- 
tinue in  the  present  arrangement,  (which  must  be  completed 
immediately,)  it  will  be  very  agreeable  to 
Sir,  your  most  obedient  servant, 

G.  Washington. 

Col.  Putnam." 

On  the  receipt  of  this  letter,  and  one  from  Gen.  Potter, 
he  repaired  immediately  to  camp ;  but  being  determined  not 
to  remain  in  a  situation  approaching  disgrace,  as  some  of 
his  senior  officers  had  done,  when  Congress  neglected  to  pro- 
mote them  to  actual  vacancies,  on  Ins  arrival  he  wrote  a 
very  interesting  letter  to  Gen.  Washington,  explaining  all 
his  views  and  thanking  him  for  the  interest  he  took  in  his 
welfare,  but  is  too  lengthy  for  insertion  here.  On  the  8th 
of  January  following,  he  wras  commissioned  as  a  brigadier- 
general  in  the  army  of  the  United  States,  and  then  left 
without  any  excuse  to  leave  the  service  until  the  declaration 
of  peace,  which  happily  took  place  on  the  9th  of  April, 
1783. 

In  June  the  Massachusetts  line  was  reduced  to  two  regi- 
ments of  which, Gen.  Patterson  or  the  oldest  officer  took  the 


RUFUS    PUTNAM.  87 

command,  and  the  officers  and  soldiers  retired  on  furlough, 
and  were  finally  discharged  in  November. 

During  his  continuance  in  the  army,  he  shared  largely  in 
the  confidence  of  Gen.  Washington,  who  continued  his 
friendship  during  his  political  life,  appointing  him  to  various 
posts  of  honor  and  profit,  as  will  appear  in  the  progress  of 
this  biography. 

During  this  year  he  was  consulted  by  Gen.  Washington, 
as  to  the  best  plan  of  arranging  "  a  military  peace  establish- 
ment," for  the  United  States.  Into  this  subject  he  entered 
quite  largely,  drafting  a  system  embracing  about  thirty 
manuscript  pages,  giving  in  detail  the  whole  arrangement, 
and  must  have  been  quite  useful  to  the  commander-in-chief, 
in  forming  his  final  report  to  Congress.  In  it  is  embraced, 
besides  the  regular  troops,  a  plan  for  twenty-four  regiments 
of  continental  militia,  selected  from  the  several  states,  of- 
ficered and  armed  like  the  standing  troops,  and  ready  to  be 
called  into  service  when  needed.  Also  a  plan  for  a  chain 
of  military  posts,  or  forts  for  the  defense  of  the  frontiers, 
in  the  west,  one  of  which  is  at  the  mouth  of  the  Muskingum 
and  was  established  in  1785.  And,  as  in  case  of  war  with 
Great  Britain,  they  would  probably  have  the  ascendancy  on 
the  northern  lakes,  he  points  out  the  most  eligible  routes  for 
supplying  the  posts  with  provisions.  It  is  an  elaborate 
work  and  displays  the  genius  of  a  great  and  calculating 
mind :  the  original  draft  of  which  is  now  among  his  manu- 
script papers. 

In  June,  1783,  before  the  final  reduction  of  the  army  took 
place  at  New  Windsor,  the  officers  of  the  army,  to  the  num- 
ber of  two  hundred  and  eighty-three  belonging  chiefly  to  the 
northern  states,  petitioned  Congress  for  a  grant  of  land  in 
the  western  country,  and  Gen.  Putnam,  in  their  behalf,  ad- 
dressed a  letter  to  Gen.  Washington  on  the  subject,  request- 
ing his  influence  with  Congress  in  the  matter.     It  explains 


88  RUFUS    PUTNAM. 

the  views  and  expectations  of  the  officers,  and  the  good 
results  that  would  accrue  to  the  United  States,  in  a  clear 
and  masterly  manner,  and  being  now  a  rare  document  is 
given  in  full  as  justly  due  to  his  character  and  name. 

"New  Windsor,  June  16th,  1783. 
Sir  :  As  it  is  very  uncertain  how  long  it  may  be  before  the 
honorable  Congress  may  take  the  petition  of  the  officers  of 
the  army,  for  lands  between  the  Ohio  river  and  Lake  Erie, 
into  consideration,  or  be  in  a  situation  to  decide  thereon,  the 
going  to  Philadelphia  to  negotiate  the  business  with  any  of 
its  members,  or  committee  to  whom  the  petition  may  be 
referred,  is  a  measure,  none  of  the  petitioners  will  think  of 
undertaking.  The  part  I  have  taken  in  promoting  the  peti- 
tion is  well  known,  and,  therefore,  needs  no  apology,  when  1 
inform  you,  that  the  signers  expect  that  I  will  pursue  measures 
to  have  it  laid  before  Congress.  Under  these  circumstances 
I  beg  leave  to  put  the  petition  in  your  excellency's  hands, 
and  ask  with  the  greatest  assurance  your  patronage  of 
it.  That  Congress  may  not  be  wholly  unacquainted  with 
the  motives  of  the  petitioners,  I  beg  your  indulgence  while  I 
make  a  few  observations  on  the  policy  and  propriety  of 
granting  the  prayer  of  it,  and  making  such  arrangements 
of  garrisons  in  the  western  quarter,  as  shall  give  effectual 
protection  to  the  settlers  and  encourage  emigration  to  the 
new  government,  which,  if  they  meet  your  approbation,  and 
the  favor  not  too  great,  I  must  request  your  excellency  will 
give  them  your  support,  and  cause  them  to  be  forwarded 
with  the  petition,  to  the  President  of  Congress,  in  order  that 
when  the  petition  is  taken  up,  Congress  or  their  committee, 
may  be  informed  on  what  principles  the  petition  is  grounded. 
I  am,  sir,  among  those  who  consider  the  cession  of  so  great 
a  tract  of  territory  to  the  United  States,  in  the  western 
world,  as  a  very  happy  circumstance,  and  of  great  conse- 
quence to  the  American  empire.     Nor  have  I  the  least  doubt 


RUFUS    PUTNAM.  89 

but  Congress  will  pay  an  early  attention  to  securing  the 
allegiance  of  the  natives,  as  well  as  provide  for  the  defense 
of  the  country,  in  case  of  a  war  with  Great  Britain  or  Spain. 
One  great  means  of  securing  the  allegiance  of  the  natives 
I  take  to  be,  the  furnishing  them  with  such  necessaries  as 
they  shall  stand  in  need  of,  and  in  exchange  receiving  their 
furs  and  skins.  They  have  become  so  accustomed  to  the 
use  of  fire-arms,  that  I  doubt  if  they  could  gain  a  subsis- 
tence without  them,  at  least  they  will  be  very  sorry  to  be 
reduced  to  the  disagreeable  necessity  of  using  the  bow  and 
arrow  as  the  only  means  for  killing  their  game ;  and  so 
habituated  are  they  to  the  woolen  blanket,  &c,  &c,  that 
absolute  necessity  alone  will  prevent  their  making  use  of 
them. 

This  consideration  alone  is  I  think,  sufficient  to  prove 
the  necessity  of  establishing  such  factories  as  may  furnish 
an  ample  supply  to  these  wretched  creatures :  for  unless 
they  are  furnished  by  the  subjects  of  the  United  States, 
they  will  undoubtedly  seek  elsewhere,  and  like  all  other 
people,  form  their  attachment  where  they  have  their  com- 
merce ;  and  then  in  case  of  war,  will  always  be  certain  to 
aid  our  enemies.  Therefore  if  there  were  no  advantages 
in  view  but  that  of  attaching  them  to  our  interest,  I  think 
good  policy  will  dictate  the  measure  of  carrying  on  a  com- 
merce with  these  people  ;  but  when  we  add  to  this  the  con- 
sideration of  the  profit  arising  from  the  Indian  trade  in 
general,  there  cannot,  I  presume,  be  a  doubt  that  it  is  the 
interest  of  the  United  States  to  make  as  early  provision  for 
the  encouragement  and  protection  of  it  as  possible.  For 
these,  and  many  other  obvious  reasons,  Congress  will  no 
doubt  find  it  necessary  to  establish  garrisons  at  Oswego, 
Niagara,  Detroit,  Michilimackinac,  Illinois,  and  many  other 
places  in  the  western  world. 

The  Illinois,  and  all  the  posts  that  shall  be  established 


90  RUFUS    PUTNAM. 

on  the  Mississippi,  may  undoubtedly  be  furnished  by  way 
of  the  Ohio,  with  provisions  at  all  times,  and  with  goods 
whenever  a  war  shall  interrupt  the  trade  with  New  Or- 
leans. But  in  case  of  a  war  with  Great  Britain,  unless  a 
communication  is  open  between  the  river  Ohio  and  Lake 
Erie,  Niagara,  Detroit,  and  all  the  posts  seated  on  the  great 
lakes,  will  inevitably  be  lost  without  such  communication ; 
for  a  naval  superiority  on  Lake  Ontario,  or  the  seizing  on 
Niagara,  will  subject  the  whole  country  bordering  on  the 
lakes  to  the  will  of  the  enemy.  Such  a  misfortune  will  put 
it  out  of  the  power  of  the  United  States  to  furnish  the  na- 
tives, and  necessity  will  again  oblige  them  to  take  an  active 
part  against  us. 

Where  and  how  this  communication  is  to  be  opened, 
shall  next  be  considered.  If  Capt.  Hutchins  and  a  number 
of  other  map-makers  are  not  out  of  their  calculations,  provis- 
ions may  be  sent  from  the  settlements  on  the  south  side  of  the 
Ohio,  by  the  Muskingum  or  the  Scioto,  to  Detroit,  or  even 
to  Niagara,  at  a  less  expense  than  from  Albany  by  the  Mo- 
hawk, to  those  places.  To  secure  such  communication,  (by 
the  Scioto,  all  circumstances  considered,  will  be  the  best,) 
let  a  chain  of  forts  be  established  :  these  forts  should  be 
built  on  the  bank  of  the  river,  if  the  ground  will  admit,  and 
about  twenty  miles  distant  from  each  other :  and  on  this 
plan  the  Scioto  communication  will  require  ten  or  eleven 
stockaded  forts,  flanked  by  block-houses;  and  one  company 
of  men  will  be  a  sufficient  garrison  for  each,  except  the  one 
at  the  portage,  which  will  require  more  attention  in  the 
construction,  and  a  larger  number  of  men  to  garrison  it. 
But  besides  the  supplying  the  garrisons  on  the  great  lakes 
with  provisions,  &c,  we  ought  to  take  into  consideration  the 
protection  that  such  an  arrangement  will  give  to  the  front- 
iers of  Virginia,  Pennsylvania,  and  New  York.  I  say  New 
York,  as  we  shall  undoubtedly  extend  our  settlements  and 


RUFUS    PUTNAM.  91 

garrisons  from  the  Hudson  to  Oswego.  This  done,  and  a 
garrison  posted  at  Niagara,  whoever  will  inspect  the  map  must 
be  convinced  that  all  the  Indians  living  on  the  waters  of  the 
Mohawk,  Oswego,  Susquehanna,  and  Alleghany  rivers,  and 
in  all  the  country  south  of  the  lakes  Ontario  and  Erie,  will 
be  encircled  in  such  a  manner  as  will  effectually  secure  their 
allegiance,  and  keep  them  quiet,  or  oblige  them  to  quit  their 
country. 

Nor  will  such  an  arrangement  of  posts,  from  the  Ohio  to 
Lake  Erie,  be  any  additional  expense ;  for,  unless  this  gap 
is  shut,  notwithstanding  the  garrisons  on  the  lakes,  and 
from  Oswego  to  the  Hudson,  yet  the  frontier  settlers  on  the 
Ohio,  by  Fort  Pitt  to  the  Susquehanna,  and  all  the  country 
south  of  the  Mohawk,  will  be  exposed  to  savage  insult,  un- 
less protected  by  a  chain  of  garrisons,  which  will  be  far 
more  expensive  than  the  arrangement  proposed,  and  at  the 
same  time  the  protection  given  to  these  states,  will  be  much 
less  complete ;  besides,  we  should  not  confine  our  protec- 
tion to  the  present  settlements,  but  carry  the  idea  of  extend- 
ing them  at  least  as  far  as  the  lakes  Ontario  and  Erie. 

These  lakes  form  such  a  natural  barrier,  that  when  con- 
nected with  the  Hudson  and  Ohio  by  the  garrisons  pro- 
posed, settlements  in  every  part  of  the  state  of  New  York 
and  Pennsylvania,  may  be  made  with  the  utmost  safety;  so 
that  these  states  must  be  deeply  interested  in  the  measure,  as 
well  as  Virginia,  who  will,  by  the  same  arrangement,  have 
a  great  part  of  its  frontier  secured,  and  the  rest  much 
strengthened ;  nor  is  there  a  state  in  the  Union,  but  will  be 
greatly  benefited  by  the  measure,  considered  in  any  other 
point  of  view;  for,  without  any  expense  except  a  small 
allowance  of  purchase-money  to  the  natives,  the  United 
States  will  have  within  their  protection,  seventeen  million, 
five  hundred  thousand  acres  of  very  fine  land,  to  dispose  of 
as  they  may  think  proper.    But  I  hasten  to  mention  some  of 


92  RUFUS    PUTNAM. 

the  expectations  which  the  petitioners  have,  respecting  the 
conditions  on  which  they  hope  to  obtain  the  lands.  This 
was  not  proper  to  mention  in  the  body  of  the  petition,  es- 
pecially as  we  pray  for  grants  to  all  members  of  the  army, 
who  wish  to  take  up  lands  in  that  quarter. 

The  whole  tract  is  supposed  to  contain  about  seventeen 
million,  four  hundred  and  eighteen  thousand,  two  hundred 
and  forty  acres ;  and  will  admit  of  seven  hundred  and  fifty- 
six  townships,  of  six  miles  square,  allowing  to  each  town- 
ship, three  thousand  and  forty  acres,  for  the  ministry,  schools, 
waste  lands,  rivers,  ponds,  and  highways ;  then  each  town- 
ship will  contain,  of  settlers'  lands,  twenty  thousand  acres, 
and  in  the  whole,  fifteen  million,  one  hundred  and  twenty 
thousand  acres.  The  land  to  which  the  army  is  entitled, 
by  the  resolves  of  Congress,  referred  to  in  the  petition,  ac- 
cording to  my  estimate,  will  amount  to  two  million,  one 
hundred  and  six  thousand,  eight  hundred  and  fifty  acres, 
which  is  about  the  eighth  part  of  the  whole.  For  the  survey 
of  this,  the  army  expect  to  be  at  no  expense ;  nor  do  they 
expect  to  be  under  any  obligation  to  settle  these  lands,  or 
do  any  duty  to  secure  their  title  in  them ;  but  in  order  to 
induce  the  army  to  become  actual  settlers  in  the  new  gov- 
ernment, the  petitioners  hope  Congress  will  make  a  further 
grant  of  lands  on  condition  of  settlement;  and  have  no 
doubt  but  that  honorable  body  will  be  as  liberal  to  all  those 
who  are  not  provided  for,  by  their  own  states,  as  New  York 
has  been  to  the  officers  and  soldiers  that  belong  to  that 
state ;  which,  if  they  do,  it  will  require  about  eight  million 
of  acres  to  complete  the  army,  and  about  seven  million 
acres  will  remain  for  sale.  The  petitioners,  at  least  some 
of  them,  are  much  opposed  to  the  monopoly  of  lands,  and 
wish  to  guard  against  large  patents  being  granted  to  in- 
dividuals, as,  in  their  opinion,  such  a  mode  is  very  injuri- 
ous to  a  country,  and  greatly  retards  its  settlement ;  and 


RUFUS    PUTNAM.  93 

whenever  such  patents  are  tenanted,  it  throws  too  much 
power  into  the  hands  of  a  few.  For  these  and  many  other 
obvious  reasons,  the  petitioners  hope  no  grant  will  be  made 
but  by  townships  of  six  miles  square,  or  six  by  twelve,  or 
six  by  eighteen  miles,  to  be  subdivided  by  the  proprietors  to 
six  miles  square,  that  being  the  standard  on  which  they  wish 
all  calculations  to  be  made ;  and  that  officers  and  soldiers, 
as  well  as  those  who  petition  for  charters  on  purchase,  may 
form  their  associations  on  one  uniform  principle,  as  to  num- 
ber of  persons  or  rights  to  be  contained  in  a  township,  with 
the  exception  only,  that  when  the  grant  is  made  for  reward 
of  services  already  done,  or  on  condition  of  settlement,  if 
the  officers  petition,  with  the  soldiers,  for  a  particular  town- 
ship, the  soldiers  shall  have  one  right  only,  to  a  captain's 
three,  and  so  in  proportion  with  commissioned  officers  of 
every  grade. 

These,  sir,  are  the  principles  which  gave  rise  to  the  pe- 
tition under  consideration ;  the  petitioners,  at  least  some  of 
them,  think  that  sound  policy  dictates  the  measure,  and  that 
Congress  ought  to  lose  no  time  in  establishing  some  such 
chain  of  posts  as  has  been  hinted  at,  and  in  procuring  the 
tract  of  country  petitioned  for,  of  the  natives ;  for,  the  mo- 
ment this  is  done,  and  agreeable  terms  offered  to  the  set- 
tlers, many  of  the  petitioners  are  determined,  not  only  to 
become  adventurers,  but  actually  to  remove  themselves  to 
this  country ;  and  there  is  not  the  least  doubt,  but  other  val- 
uable citizens  will  follow  their  example ;  and  the  probability 
is,  that  the  country  between  Lake  Erie  and  the  Ohio  will  be 
filed  with  inhabitants,  and  the  faithful  subjects  of  the  United 
States  so  established  on  the  waters  of  the  Ohio  and  the 
lakes,  as  to  banish  forever  the  idea  of  Our  western  territory 
falling  under  the  dominion  of  any  European  power;  the 
frontiers  of  the  old  states  will  be  effectually  secured  from 


94  RUFUS    PUTNAM. 

savage  alarms,  and  the  new  will  have  little  to  fear  from 
their  insults. 

I  have  the  honor  to  be,  sir,  with  every  sentiment, 
your  excellency's  most  obedient  and  very 
humble  servant, 

Rufus  Putnam. 

Gen.  Washington." 

From  the  suggestions  in  this  communication  of  Gen.  Put- 
nam, originated  the  system  of  laying  out  and  surveying  the 
public  lands  in  townships  of  six  miles  square,  continued  in 
all  the  surveys  of  United  States  lands  to  this  day.  The 
townships  of  six  miles  square,  and  subdivided  among  the 
proprietors,  about  the  average  size  of  the  New  England 
farms,  as  well  as  the  provision  made  for  the  support  of 
schools  and  the  ministry,  could  only  have  originated  with  a 
Puritan  mind;  although  the  latter  was  confined  to  the  Ohio 
Company's  and  Symm's  purchase,  and  not  adopted  by 
Congress. 

Gen.  Washington,  in  a  letter  addressed  to  the  President  of 
Congress,  advocated  the  measure  strongly,  as  advantageous 
to  the  United  States  as  well  as  to  the  petitioners.  Nothing, 
however,  was  done  by  them  in  the  matter  as  to  making  any 
additional  grant  for  United  States  securities,  further  than 
that  of  September,  1776,  and  this  movement  was  finally  the 
origin  of  the  Ohio  Company. 

After  his  discharge  from  the  army  in  1783,  he  joined  his 
family  in  Rutland,  Mass.,  where  they  then  lived,  and  re- 
sumed the  occupations  of  farming  and  surveying. 

In  April,  1784,  he  addressed  the  following  letter  to  Gen. 
Washington,  on  the  subject  of  the  projected  settlement  to  be 
made  by  the  officers  and  soldiers  of  the  army  in  the  Ohio 
country,  which  subject  seems  to  have  entered  deeply  into 
his  heart,  and  occupied  a  prominent  place  in  his  attention ; 


KTJFUS    PUTNAM.  95 

he  may  therefore  well  be  called  the  projector  and  father  of 
the  settlements  northwest  of  the  Ohio  river. 

"  Rutland,  April  5th,  1784. 

Dear  Sir  :  Being  unavoidably  prevented  from  attending 
the  general  meeting  of  the  Cincinnati  at  Philadelphia,  as  I 
had  intended,  where  I  once  more  expected  the  opportunity  in 
person  of  paying  my  respects  to  your  excellency,  I  cannot 
deny  myself  the  honor  of  addressing  you  by  letter,  to  ac- 
knowledge with  gratitude  the  ten  thousand  obligations  I  feel 
myself  under  to  your  goodness,  and  most  sincerely  to  con- 
gratulate you  on  your  return  to  domestic  happiness ;  to 
inquire  after  your  health,  and  wish  the  best  of  Heaven's 
blessings  may  attend  you  and  your  dear  lad)'. 

The  settlement  of  the  Ohio  country,  sir,  engrosses  many 
of  my  thoughts;  and  much  of  my  time,  since  I  left  the 
camp,  has  been  employed  in  informing  myself  and  others, 
with  respect  to  the  nature,  situation,  and  circumstances  of 
that  country,  and  the  practicability  of  removing  ourselves 
there  ;  and  if  I  am  to  form  an  opinion  on  what  I  have  seen 
and  heard  on  the  subject,  there  are  thousands  in  this  quarter 
who  will  emigrate  to  that  country,  as  soon  as  the  honorable 
Congress  make  provisions  for  granting  lands  there,  and 
locations  and  settlements  can  be  made  with  safety,  unless 
such  provision  is  too  long  delayed ;  I  mean  till  necessity 
turn  their  views  another  way,  which  is  the  case  with  some 
already,  and  must  soon  be  the  case  with  many  more.  You 
are  sensible  of  the  necessity,  as  well  as  the  possibility  of  both 
officers  and  soldiers  fixing  themselves  in  business  some- 
where, as  soon  as  possible,  as  many  of  them  are  unable  to 
lie  long  on  their  oars,  waiting  the  decision  of  Congress,  on  our 
petition  ;  and,  therefore,  must  unavoidably  settle  themselves 
in  some  other  quarter ;  which,  when  done,  the  idea  of  re- 
moving to  the  Ohio  country  will  probably  be  at  an  end,  with 
respect  to  most  of  them;  besides,  the  commonwealth  of 


9G  RUFUS    PUTNAM. 

Massachusetts  have  come  to  a  resolution  to  sell  their  eastern 
country  for  public  securities;  and  should  their  plan  be 
formed,  and  propositions  be  made  public  before  we  hear  any- 
thing from  Congress  respecting  our  petition,  and  the  terms 
on  which  the  lands  petitioned  for  are  to  be  obtained,  it  will 
undoubtedly  be  much  against  us,  by  greatly  lessening  the 
number  of  Ohio  associates. 

Another  reason  why  we  wish  to  know,  as  soon  as  possi- 
ble, what  the  intentions  of  Congress  are  respecting  our  pe- 
tition, is  the  effect  such  knowledge  will  probably  have,  on 
the  credit  of  the  certificates  we  have  received  on  settlement 
of  accounts :   those  securities  are  now  selling   at  no  more 
than  three  shillings  and  six  pence,  or  four  shillings  on  the 
pound;  which,  in  all  probability,  might  double,  if  no  more, 
the  moment  it  was  known  that  government  would  receive 
them  for  lands  in  the  Ohio  country.     From  these  circum- 
stances, and  many  others  which  might  be  mentioned,  we  are 
growing  quite  impatient;  and   the  general  inquiry  now  is, 
when  are  we  going  to  the  Ohio?    Among  others,  Brig.  Gen. 
Tupper,  Lieut.  Col.  Oliver,  and  Maj.  Ashley,  have  agreed 
to  accompany  me  to  that  country,  the  moment  the  way  is 
open  for  such  an  undertaking.     I  should  have  hinted  these 
things  to  some  member  of  Congress,  but  the  delegates  from 
.Massachusetts,  although   exceeding   worthy   men,   and,   in 
general,  would  wish  to  promote  the  Ohio  scheme,  yet,  if  it 
should  militate  against  the  particular  interest  of  this  state, 
by  draining  her  of  inhabitants,  especially  when  she  is  form- 
ing the  plan  of  selling  the  eastern  country,  I  thought  they 
would  not  be  very  warm  advocates  in  our  favor;  and  I  dare 
not  trust  myself  with  any  of  the  New  York  delegates,  with 
whom  I  was  acquainted,  because  that  government  are  wisely 
inviting  the  eastern  people  to  settle  in  that  state;  and  as  to 
the  delegates  of  other  states,  I  have  no  acquaintance  with 
any  of  them. 


RUFUS    PUTNAM.  97 

These  circumstances  must  apologize  for  my  troubling 
you  on  this  subject,  and  requesting  the  favor  of  a  line,  to 
inform  us  in  this  quarter,  what  the  prospects  are  with  re- 
spect to  our  petition,  and  what  measures  have,  or  are  likely 
to  be  taken,  with  respect  to  settling  the  Ohio  country. 

I  shall  take  it  as  a  very  particular  favor,  sir,  if  you  will 
be  kind  enough  to  recommend  me  to  some  character  in  Con- 
gress, acquainted  with,  and  attached  to  the  Ohio  cause,  with 
whom  I  may  presume  to  open  a  correspondence. 

I  am,  sir,  with  the  highest  respect, 
your  humble  servant, 

Rufus  Putnam. 

Gen.  Washington." 

In  June,  he  received  the  following  reply  from  Gen.  Wash- 
ington : 

"Mount  Vernon,  June  2d,  1784. 

Dear  Sir:  I  could  not  answer  your  favor  of  the  5th  of 
April,  from  Philadelphia,  because  Gen.  Knox,  having  mis- 
laid, only  presented  the  letter  to  me  in  the  moment  of  my 
departure  from  that  place.  The  sentiments  of  esteem  and 
friendship  which  breathe  in  it,  are  exceedingly  pleasing 
and  flattering  to  me,  and  you  may  rest  assured  they  are 
reciprocal. 

I  wish  it  was  in  my  power  to  give  you  a  more  favorable 
account  of  the  officers'  petition  for  lands  on  the  Ohio,  and 
its  waters,  than  I  am  about  to  do.  After  this  matter,  and 
information  respecting  the  establishment  for  peace,  were 
my  inquiries,  as  I  went  through  Annapolis,  solely  directed; 
but  I  could  not  learn  that  anything  decisive  had  been  done 
in  either. 

On  the  latter,  I  hear  Congress  are  differing  about  their 
powers ;  but  as  they  have  accepted  of  the  cession  from  Vir- 
ginia, and  have  resolved  to  lay  off  ten  new  states,  bounded 
by  latitudes  and  longitudes,  it  should  be  supposed  that  they 


08  BUFUS    PUTNAM. 

would  determine  something  respecting  the  former,  before 
they  adjourn;  and  yet  I  very  much  question  it,  as  the  latter 
is  to  happen  on  the  3d,  that  is  to-morrow.  As  the  Congress 
who  are  to  meet  in  November  next,  by  the  adjournment  will 
be  composed  from  an  entire  new  choice  of  delegates  in  each 
state,  it  is  not  in  my  power,  at  this  time,  to  direct  you  to  a 
proper  correspondent  in  that  body.  I  wish  I  could  ;  for  per- 
suaded I  am,  that  to  some  such  cause  as  you  have  assigned, 
may  be  ascribed  the  delay  the  petition  has  encountered ;  for 
surely,  if  justice  and  gratitude  to  the  army,  and  general  policy 
of  the  Union  were  to  govern  in  this  case,  there  would  not 
be  the  smallest  interruption  in  granting  its  request.  I  really 
feel  for  those  gentlemen,  who,  by  these  unaccountable  de- 
lays, (by  any  other  means  than  those  you  have  suggested,) 
are  held  in  such  an  awkward  and  disagreeable  state  of  sus- 
pense ;  and  wish  my  endeavors  could  remove  the  obstacles. 
At  Princeton,  before  Congress  left  that  place,  I  exerted 
every  power  I  was  master  of,  and  dwelt  upon  the  argument 
you  have  used,  to  show  the  propriety  of  a  speedy  decision. 
Every  member  with  whom  I  conversed,  acquiesced  in  the 
reasonableness  of  the  petition.  All  yielded,  or  seemed  to 
yield  to  the  policy  of  it,  but  plead  the  want  of  cession  of  the 
land,  to  act  upon;  this  is  made  and  accepted ;  and  yet  mat- 
ters, as  far  as  they  have  come  to  my  knowledge,  remain  in 
statu  quo/' 

After  speaking  of  his  own  lands  on  the  Ohio  and  Ken- 
awha,  he  closes  with, 

"  I  am,  dear  sir,  with  very  sincere  esteem  and  regard,  your 
most  obedient  servant, 

G.  Washington." 

The  project  of  an  immediate  establishment  in  the  wilder- 
ness, northwest  of  the  river  Ohio,  having  failed,  he,  on  the 
2d  of  August  of  this  year,  left  his  home  once  more,  to  sur- 
vey a  tract  of  land  for  the  state  of  Massachusetts,  bordering 


RUFUS    PUTNAM.  99 

on  the  bay  of  Passamaquoddy,  and  returned  from  that  ser- 
vice in  November. 

In  the  course  of  this  year,  the  Leicester  academy,  one  of 
the  earliest  and  most  respectable  in  the  state,  was  incorpo 
rated,  and  Gen.  Putnam  became  one  of  its  principal  friends 
and  benefactors;  giving,  for  its  support,  one  hundred  pounds, 
or  three  hundred  and  thirty-three  dollars,  and  thirty-three 
cents,  a  liberal  sum  for  one  in  his  circumstances.  He  was 
appointed  one  of  the  trustees,  in  company  with  the  Hon. 
Moses  Gill,  Hon.  Levi  Lincoln,  Joseph  Allen,  Seth  Wash- 
burn, Samuel  Baker,  and  several  respectable  clergymen  of 
the  vicinity ;  thus  showing  his  regard  for  such  institutions  as 
would  benefit  his  country. 

In  1785,  the  Legislature  being  well  satisfied  with  his  la- 
bor, and  the  correct,  intelligent  report,  made  to  them,  of  his 
doings  in  the  preceding  year,  appointed  him  on  the  committee 
for  the  sale  of  their  eastern  lands,  and  also  superintendent 
of  the  surveys  to  be  made  this  year.  In  June,  while  he  was 
in  Boston  making  preparations  for  the  voyage,  he  received 
notice  of  his  appointment,  by  Congress,  as  one  of  the  sur- 
veyors of  then  lands,  northwest  of  the  river  Ohio,  recently 
ordered  to  be  surveyed  for  sale,  being  seven  ranges  of  town- 
ships, immediately  west  of  the  Pennsylvania  line.  As  he 
could  not  honorably  relinquish  his  engagement  with  Massa- 
chusetts, and  also  wished  to  accept  the  office,  he  wrote  to 
the  secretary  an  affirmative  answer,  and  at  the  same  time, 
a  letter  to  the  Massachusetts  delegation,  requesting  them  to 
get  Congress  to  appoint  Gen.  Tupper  temporarily,  in  his 
place,  until  his  present  contract  was  fulfilled.  This  object 
was  accomplished,  and  Gen.  Tupper  proceeded  on  to  Pitts- 
burg, for  this  purpose,  in  1785.  On  the  14th  of  June,  he 
sailed,  with  his  company  of  surveyors,  from  Beverly,  and 
arrived  at  Blue  Hill  on  the  20th.    This  season  was  occupied 


100  RUFUS    PUTNAM. 

in  surveying  the  coast,  islands,  and  towns  westward  of  Pen- 
obscot bay,  and  laid  the  foundation  for  a  correct  chart  of 
that  stormy  sea-board.  He  returned  late  in  December,  and 
spent  the  winter  in  protracting  the  results  of  his  labors,  for 
the  use  of  the  state. 

In  January,  1785,  a  treaty  was  made  with  the  Indians 
claiming  the  lands  now  in  Ohio,  at  Fort  Mcintosh,  but  with 
conditions  so  repugnant  to  the  Delawares  and  Shawnoes,  who 
considered  themselves  as  cheated  and  deceived  by  the  com- 
missioners on  the  part  of  the  United  States,  that  they  threat- 
ened with  death  any  who  attempted  to  execute  the  surveys, 
and  were  so  manifestly  hostile,  that  it  was  deemed  impru- 
dent to  make  the  attempt,  and  the  work  was  abandoned  for 
that  year. 

When  Gen.  Tupper  returned  in  the  winter,  he  made  a 
very  favorable  report  of  the  fertility  and  beauty  of  the 
country,  and  as  there  was  no  expectation  of  Congress  doing 
anything  more  favorable  for  the  officers  and  soldiers  of  the 
late  army  than  wsa  contained  in  their  ordinance  of  the  20th 
of  May,  1785,  Gen.  Putnam  concluded  to  join  with  Gen. 
Tupper  in  proposing  an  association  for  the  purchase  of  lands 
in  the  western  country.  Accordingly  on  the  10th  of  Jan- 
uary, 1786,  after  nearly  a  whole  night  spent  in  conferring  on 
this  momentous  subject,  they  issued  a  public  notice  ad- 
dressed to  the  officers  and  soldiers,  as  well  as  other  good 
dozens  disposed  to  become  adventurers  in  the  Ohio  country, 
to  meet  at  Boston,  by  delegates  chosen  in  the  several  coun- 
ties, on  the  1st  day  of  March,  for  the  purpose  of  forming  an 
association  by  the  name  of  "  The  Ohio  Company."  From 
that  night's  conference  of  these  two  men,  who  had  long 
been  close  and  firm  friends,  on  the  9th  of  January,  1786, 
proceeded  the  first  germ  of  the  present  great  state  of  Ohio. 
A  full  detail  of  the  formation  and  progress  of  the  company, 


RTJFUS    PUTNAM.  101 

will  be  found  in  "  The  History  of  the  first  Settlement  of  Wash- 
ington county,  and  the  Transactions  of  the  Ohio  Company," 
a  work  which  precedes  the  volume  of  Biographies. 

In  March,  1786,  the  United  States  surveyors  were  ordered 
to  proceed  west ;  and  as  Gen.  Tupper  had  been  at  very  se- 
rious expense  in  the  last  year's  journey,  without  any  profit, 
Gen.  Putnam  kindly  continued  him  as  his  substitute,  while 
he  occupied  the  summer  in  closing  the  business  of  the  Mas- 
sachusetts lands.  In  addition  to  this,  he  was  appointed  by 
the  state  a  commissioner,  in  conjunction  with  Gen.  Lincoln, 
and  Judge  Paine,  of  Wiscasset,  to  treat  with  the  Penobscot 
Indians,  which  was  accomplished  in  August  and  Septem- 
ber of  that  year.  During  the  severe  weather  of  January, 
1787,  he  joined  Gen.  Lincoln  at  Worcester,  as  a  volunteer 
aid  to  suppress  the  Shay  insurrection,  and  continued  to  as- 
sist him  with  his  advice  and  personal  presence  during  this 
trying  period,  until  the  final  dispersion  of  the  insurgents  at 
Petersham,  in  February.  In  April  he  was  appointed  a  jus- 
tice of  the  peace  by  Gov.  Bowdoin,  and  in  May  chosen  by 
the  town  of  Rutland,  a  member  in  the  General  Assembly, 
and  attended  the  spring  and  autumn  sessions  of  that  year. 

In  November,  1789,  the  directors  of  the  Ohio  Company 
appointed  him  superintendent  of  all  their  affairs  relating  to 
the  settlement  of  their  lands  northwest  of  the  river  Ohio. 
The  first  division  of  their  pioneers  left  Danvers,  in  Massa- 
chusetts, under  the  direction  of  Maj.  Haffield  White,  on  the 
1st  day  of  December.  The  second  assembled  at  Hartford, 
Conn.,  on  the  1st  of  January,  1788,  and  wTere  led  by 
Col.  Sproat;  Gen.  Putnam  being  obliged  to  go  by  the  way 
of  the  city  of  New  York,  on  the  business  of  the  company. 
On  the  24th  of  that  month  he  joined  the  division  at  Swatarra 
creek,  Pa.,  which  they  crossed  with  much  difficulty,  on  ac- 
count of  the  ice.  On  that  night  there  fell  a  deep  snow, 
which  blocked  up  the  roads,  and  with  their  utmost  exertions 


102  RUFUS    PUTNAM. 

they  could  get  their  wagons  no  further  than  Cooper's  tav- 
ern, now  Strawsbtirg,  at  the  foot  of  the  Tuscarawas  moun- 
tain, on  the  29th  of  January.  Here  they  ascertained  that 
no  one  had  crossed  the  mountains  since  the  last  fall  of 
snow,  which,  with  that  on  the  ground  before,  made  about 
three  feet.  They  therefore  abandoned  their  wagons,  built 
four  stout  sledges,  to  which  they  harnessed  their  horses  in 
single  file,  preceded  by  the  men  on  foot,  who  broke  a  track 
for  the  teams,  and  thus,  after  two  weeks  of  incessant  labor, 
they  overcame  the  mountain  ranges,  and  the  numerous  dif- 
ficulties of  the  way,  reaching  Simrel's  ferry  on  the  Yough- 
iogheny  on  the  14th  of  February,  where  they  found  the  party 
under  Maj.  White,  who  arrived  the  23d  of  January. 

By  the  1st  of  April,  having  completed  then  boats  and 
taken  in  their  stores  of  provisions,  they  embarked  on  the 
western  waters  for  the  mouth  of  the  Muskingum,  which 
place  they  reached  on  the  7th  of  April,  and  landed  at  the 
upper  point,  where  they  pitched  their  camp  among  the  trees. 
The  next  day  Col.  Sproat  and  John  Mathews  commenced 
the  survey  of  the  eight  acre  lots,  and  in  a  few  days  after  the 
city  lots  and  streets,  of  the  town  of  Marietta.  On  his  way 
out,  Gen.  Putnam  procured  copies  of  the  several  treaties 
heretofore  made  with  the  western  Indians,  from  which  he 
became  impressed,  that  they  would  not  long  remain  at  peace, 
when  they  saw  the  whites  taking  actual  possession  of  the 
country  north  of  the  Ohio  river,  which  had  for  many  years 
been  considered  the  boundary  line  between  their  lands  and 
those  of  the  United  States.  For  this  reason  he  directly  com- 
menced the  erection  of  a  strong  garrison  on  the  margin  of 
the  plain,  near  the  Muskingum  river,  for  the  protection  of 
themselves  and  the  emigrants  soon  expected  to  follow. 
This  fort  was  called  "  Campus  Martius,"  and  is  fully  de- 
scribed in  the  preceding  history.  The  pioneers  that  year 
planted  about  one  hundred  and  thirty  acres  of  corn,  on  the 


EUFUS    PUTNAM.  103 

plain  back  of  the  garrison,  after  girdling  the  trees,  and  de- 
positing the  seed,  in  the  loose  earth  with  a  hoe,  there  being 
no  under  brush  in  the  forests  at  this  period.  The  season 
was  propitious,  and  the  yield  about  thirty  bushels  to  the 
acre.  He  notes,  "  We  had  no  frost  until  winter ;  I  had  Eng- 
lish beans  blossomed  in  December."  Previous  to  taking 
possession  of  their  lands,  the  directors  and  agents  of  the 
company  had  no  correct  knowledge  of  the  face  of  the  coun- 
try, or  the  quality  of  the  soil,  on  the  Muskingum,  at  and 
near  its  confluence  with  the  Ohio,  where  they  had  determined 
on  locating  their  capital,  to  cover,  including  commons,  four 
thousand  acres  ;  and  contiguous  to  this,  to  lay  off  one  thou- 
sand lots  of  eight  acres  each,  for  the  convenience  of  the 
proprietors. 

In  June,  Gen.  Parsons  and  Gen.  Varnum,  two  of  the  di- 
rectors, with  a  sufficient  number  of  the  agents,  arrived,  to 
form  a  meeting,  on  the  2d  day  of  July.  On  examining  the 
location  of  the  eight  acre  lots,  they  were  much  disappointed 
to  find  that  no  one  of  them  had  drawn  a  lot  so  near  the 
town  as  to  make  it  prudent  to  cultivate  them.  To  remedy 
this  evil,  they  voted  to  divide  three  thousand  acres  of  the 
land  reserved  for  city  commons,  into  three  acre  lots ;  but 
this  unwise  division  did  not  mend  the  difficulty :  they  were 
still  as  little  accommodated  as  before.  The  project  of  laying 
out  eight  acre  lots  had  been  opposed  from  the  first  by  Gen. 
Putnam  and  a  few  others,  who  advocated  the  plan  of  laying 
off  small  farms  of  sixty-four  acres  of  the  best  lands,  to  each 
share  bordering  on  the  Ohio  or  Muskingum ;  of  which  the 
first  actual  settlers  might  take  their  choice ;  but  they  were 
overruled  and  the  eight  acre  lots  having  been  drawn,  it  was 
too  late  to  adopt  the  other  plan. 

In  July,  Gov.  St.  Clair  arrived,  and  a  code  of  laws  for  the 
government  of  the  territory  promulgated.  In  September 
the  Court  of  Common  Pleas  and  Quarter  Sessions  held  their 


104  RUFUS    PUTNAM. 

first  session.  Of  the  latter  Gen.  Putnam  was  the  presiding 
officer,  and  gave  the  charge  to  the  grand  jury,  in  a  very  ap- 
propriate and  impressive  manner.  It  was  an  august  and 
ever-to-be-commemorated  occasion  —  the  first  opening  of 
the  halls  of  civil  justice  in  a  region  destined  to  be  filled  with 
millions  of  happy  human  beings.  Much  to  the  credit  of  the 
moral  and  peaceful  habits  of  the  first  settlers  of  Ohio,  no 
suit  of  a  civil  or  criminal  kind  was  entered  on  the  docket  of 
the  session. 

In  the  course  of  the  year  1788,  in  addition  to  the  first 
forty-eight  who  landed  on  the  7th  of  April,  there  arrived 
eighty-four  men,  with  several  women  and  children,  embra- 
cing fifteen  families,  making  at  its  close  nearly  two  hundred 
souls ;  and  let  it  be  remembered  that  at  the  beginning  of 
the  year  1789,  there  was  not  a  single  white  family  within 
the  present  bounds  of  Ohio,  but  those  in  this  settlement. 
Col.  Harmer  and  many  of  his  officers  were  proprietors  in 
the  Ohio  Company.  Judge  Symmes  passed  down  the  Ohio 
during  the  summer,  to  his  purchase,  with  a  few  families,  but 
they  spent  the  winter  in  Kentucky.  The  directors  and  agents 
early  saw  the  necessity  of  providing  some  way  to  furnish 
actual  settlers  not  proprietors,  with  lands,  for  the  prosperity 
of  the  settlement.  Emigrants  were  constantly  passing  down 
the  Ohio  river  for  Kentucky,  many  of  whom  were  desirous 
of  settling  in  the  Ohio  Company's  purchase,  if  they  could 
get  lands.  For  this  reason  they  resolved  to  donate  one 
hundred  acres  from  each  share  of  land,  to  any  actual  settler 
who  would  take  possession  thereof;  and  a  committee  uas 
appointed  to  reconnoiter  the  purchase,  and  select  suitable 
spots  for  the  settlements. 

In  1789,  the  additions  to  the  colony  were  one  hundred 
and  fifty-two  men,  and  fifty-seven  families,  and  settlements 
were  commenced  at  Belpre,  Waterford  and  Wolf  creek 
mills.      In  this  year  Gen.  Putnam  was  appointed,  by  the 


RUFUS    PUTNAM.  105 

governor,  judge  of  probate,  for  the  county  of  Washington. 
The  insignia  on  his  seal  of  office  was  a  balance;  an  emblem 
of  the  exact  justice  that  ever  balanced  his  own  mind. 

In  1790,  he  was  commissioned  as  a  judge  of  the  United 
States  Court,  filling  the  place  on  the  bench  made  vacant  by 
the  death  of  Gen.  Parsons.  In  November  of  this  year,  he 
removed  his  family  to  Marietta,  consisting  of  his  wife,  six 
daughters,  two  sons,  and  two  grandchildren.  During  the 
autumn  the  French  emigrants,  nearly  four  hundred  in  num- 
ber, arrived,  and  he  was  at  a  good  deal  of  expense,  on  ac- 
count of  Mr.  Duer,  of  New  York,  in  erecting  houses  and 
supplying  them  with  provisions,  which  was  never  repaid. 

On  the  2d  of  January,  1791,  the  Indians  made  their  first 
hostile  movements  on  the  settlements  of  the  company,  sack- 
ing and  destroying  the  station  at  Big  Bottom,  killing  four- 
teen persons,  and  carrying  five  others  into  captivity.  The 
troops  had  been  withdrawn  from  Fort  Harmer,  in  the  unfor- 
tunate expedition  into  the  country  of  the  Shawnoes,  who 
were  greatly  exasperated,  instead  of  humbled  thereby;  and 
now  with  the  other  tribes  who  sided  with  them,  threatened  the 
destruction  of  the  new  establishments  on  the  Ohio  and  Mus- 
kingum. By  the  return  of  the  muster  rolls  of  the  militia  at 
the  time,  it  appears  that  the  whole  force  amounted  to  two 
hundred  and  fifty  men,  to  which  may  be  added  thirty-seven 
old  men  and  civil  officers,  all  that  could  be  mustered  for  the 
defense  of  the  three  settlements.  In  this  trying  emergency,  the 
wisdom  and  experience  of  Gen.  Putnam  were  found  to  be 
of  the  utmost  value.  He,  with  the  other  old  officers  of  the 
Revolution,  devised  the  plan  of  erecting  strong  garrisons  at 
Belpre  and  Waterford,  while  those  at  Marietta  were  strength- 
ened with  additional  works ;  to  all  which  the  Ohio  Company 
lent  their  ready  assistance,  and  during  the  four  years  of  the 
war  expended  above  eleven  thousand  dollars  of  their  money 
in  provisions,  pay,  clothing,  &c,  for  the  militia,  which  was 


106  ItUFUS  PUTNAM. 

• 
never  repaid  by  the  United  States,  although  rightly  and 
justly  due  them.  The  plan  of  appointing  a  company  of 
rangers  to  scour  the  woods  in  the  vicinity  of  the  stations, 
was  the  suggestion  of  Gen.  Putnam,  who  had  seen  the  wis- 
dom of  the  system  in  the  old  French  war,  and  was  one  of 
the  principal  causes  of  so  little  loss  by  the  colonists.  The 
principal  events  of  the  war  are  detailed  in  the  History  of 
Washington  county,  and  will  not  be  recapitulated  here. 

In  May,  1792,  while  in  Philadelphia,  on  business  for  the 
Ohio  Company,  he  was  appointed  by  the  senate  a  brigadier- 
general  in  the  army  of  the  United  States,  at  the  suggestion 
of  his  old  and  firm  friend,  Gen.  Washington.  This  appoint- 
ment he  accepted  with  great  reluctance,  as  appears  by  his 
letter  to  the  secretary  of  Avar. 

In  a  few  days  after,  he  received  his  instructions  from  the 
secretary  ;  one  of  the  first  duties  of  which  was  "  to  attempt 
to  be  present  at  the  general  council  of  the  hostile  Indians, 
about  to  be  assembled  on  the  Miami  river  of  Lake  Erie,  in 
order  to  convince  them  of  the  humane  disposition  of  the 
United  States;  and  thereby  to  make  a  truce  or  peace  with 
them."  He  arrived  at  Pittsburg  on  his  way  home,  the  2d 
of  June,  and  on  the  5th  sent  a  speech  to  the  hostile  tribes, 
by  two  Munsee  Indians  who  had  been  taken  prisoners,  and 
whom  he  released  for  that  purpose. 

The  purport  of  the  speech  was  to  notify  them  of  the  ob- 
ject of  his  mission,  and  "  to  request  them  to  open  a  path  to 
Fort  Jefferson,  where  he  expected  to  arrive  in  about  twenty 
days  ;  and  that  they  should  send  some  of  their  young  men, 
with  Capt.  Hendricks,  to  conduct  him  with  a  few  friends  to 
the  place  they  should  name  for  their  meeting." 

From  unexpected  delays,  he,  however,  did  not  arrive  at 
Fort  Washington,  or  Cincinnati,  until  the  2d  of  July,  where 
he  learned  that  on  the  very  day  he  had  sent  word  to  the  In- 
dians he  should  be  at  Fort  Jefferson,  a  body  of  one  hundred 


EUFUS    PUTNAM.  10? 

Indians,  dressed  in  white  shirts,  and  their  leader  with  a  scar- 
let coat,  attacked  a  party  of  whites  who  were  making  hay 
in  a  meadow  near  the  fort,  and  killed  and  carried  into  cap- 
tivity sixteen  men.  From  the  extraordinary  dress  of  these 
Indians,  there  is  reason  to  suppose  they  were  sent  out,  or  at 
least  furnished  with  their  clothing,  by  the  British  agent  at 
their  post  on  the  Miami,  for  the  express  purpose  of  decoying 
and  taking  off  Gen.  Putnam,  which  was  further  strengthened 
soon  after  by  the  murder  of  Col.  Hardy  and  Col.  Trueman, 
who  had  been  sent  out  with  flags  of  truce,  and  were  to  have 
accompanied  him,  but  the  Providential  delays  of  the  journey 
prevented  his  being  killed  or  captured  with  them.  From 
these  events  and  other  circumstances,  he  became  satisfied 
that  the  grand  counsel  were  determined  on  war,  and  there- 
fore it  was  useless  to  make  any  further  efforts  to  induce 
them  to  treat  of  peace  at  present. 

By  a  letter  from  Maj.  Hamtramick,  at  Post  Vincent,  he 
was  led  to  believe  that  the  Wabash,  and  more  western  tribes, 
would  listen  to  his  proposals  of  peace.  He,  therefore,  on 
the  24th,  sent  a  speech  to  all  the  western  tribes,  inviting 
them  to  meet  him  in  council,  at  Post  Vincent,  on  the  20th 
of  September;  assuring  them  that  he  should  bring  their 
friends  and  relatives  with  him,  now  prisoners  at  Fort  Wash- 
ington. On  the  16th  of  August,  he  left  that  post,  in  his 
twelve-oared  barge,  under  the  escort  of  Capt.  Peters,  with 
two  Kentucky  boats,  the  Indian  prisoners,  sixty  in  number, 
with  goods,  provisions,  &c,  intending  to  ascend  the  Wabash 
in  pirogues.  He  reached  the  mouth  of  that  stream  in  about 
eighteen  days,  being  retarded  by  the  low  stage  of  the  water. 
Here  he  met  a  guard  of  fifty-one  men,  and  four  pirogues, 
with  each  a  French  voyageur,  to  conduct  him  to  Post  Vin- 
cent, sent  on  by  Maj.  Hamtramick,  the  commander  of  the 
post,  where  they  arrived  on  the  13th  of  September.     At 


108  RUFUS    PUTNAM. 

the  time  he  left  the  falls  of  Ohio,  a  large  drove  of  cattle 
was  sent  across  the  country,  under  an  escort  from  Fort  Steu- 
ben, which  stood  at  the  head  of  the  falls,  intended  to  supply 
food  for  the  Indians  at  the  treaty,  who  were  expected  to 
number  seven  or  eight  hundred.  The  commandant  at  Vin- 
cennes  had  sent  the  commissioner's  speech,  of  the  24th  of 
July,  to  all  the  tribes  on  the  Wabash,  of  which,  he  received 
notice,  by  letter  of  the  31st  of  August;  and  the  prospect  of 
a  full  attendance  at  the  treaty  was  very  flattering.  A  reg- 
ular correspondence  was  kept  up  with  Gen.  Wayne  and 
Gen.  Wilkerson,  some  of  which  letters  are  very  interesting, 
detailing  the  progress  of  events  on  the  frontiers.  One  from 
Wilkerson,  of  the  last  of  September,  gives  an  account  of  a 
reconnoisance,  just  made  by  him,  to  the  outposts  on  the 
Miami  and  heads  of  the  Wabash,  across  the  battle  ground 
of  Gen.  St.  Clair,  where  he  found  two  brass  field  pieces,  left 
on  the  field  by  the  Indians. 

The  treaty  was  opened  on  the  25th  of  September,  and 
concluded  on  the  27th ;  and  was  strictly  a  treaty  of  peace 
and  amity,  between  eight  of  the  Wabash  tribes  and  the 
United  States.  It  was  signed  by  thirty- one  of  their  kings, 
chiefs,  and  warriors.  It  contained  seven  articles;  the  pur- 
port of  which  was,  that  these  tribes  were  taken  into  the  pro- 
tection of  the  United  States,  who  warranted  to  them,  the 
peaceable  possession  of  their  lands,  and  promised  never  to 
take  them  from  them,  without  their  consent  and  a  just  equiv- 
alent paid  therefor.  Perpetual  peace  was  to  be  maintained 
between  the  contracting  parties.  All  the  white  prisoners 
and  negroes  in  their  possession,  were  to  be  delivered  up  at 
Fort  Knox,  or  Vinccnnes,  as  soon  as  possible;  and  they 
promised  to  cease  from  stealing  negroes  and  horses  from 
the  whites.  It  was  witnessed  by  the  officers  of  the  post, 
and  the  interpreters  William  Wells,  Rene  Codine,  and  the 


RUFUS    PUTNAM.  109 

Rev.  John  Hacken welder,  who  accompanied  Gen.  Putnam 
in  his  journey  from  Marietta,  and  was  well  known  to  many 
of  the  tribes. 

In  the  journal  of  the  proceedings,  several  of  the  speeches 
of  the  chiefs  are  given ;  some  of  which  are  quite  sensible, 
but  none  of  them  equal  to  those  made  at  the  treaty  of 
Greenville,  in  1795,  by  the  Shawanoes,  Pottawatamies,  and 
Wyandots.  Turke,  a  Wyandot,  said,  "  I  now  tell  you,  that 
no  one  in  particular  can  justly  claim  this  ground;  it  be- 
longs in  common  to  us  all ;  no  earthly  being  has  an  exclu- 
sive right  to  it.  The  Great  Spirit  above  is  the  true  and 
only  owner  of  this  soil;  and  He  has  given  us  all  an  equal 
right  to  it."  He  also  said,  "We  will  offer  our  acknowledg- 
ments to  the  Great  Spirit ;  for,  it  is  Him  alone  who  has 
brought  us  together,  and  caused  us  to  agree  in  the  good 
works  which  have  been  done,"  referring  to  the  treaty.  The 
New  Corn,  a  Pottawatamie  chief,  and  an  old  man,  spoke 
at  this  treaty,  and  at  the  close,  said,  "My  friends,  I  am  old> 
but  I  shall  never  die.  I  shall  always  live  in  my  children, 
and  children's  children."  A  beautiful  sentiment,  and  worthy 
the  best  days  of  Socrates.  These  few  brief  specimens  of 
their  speeches  are  given  to  show  that  they  are  not  destitute 
of  native  genius,  brilliant  thoughts,  and  just  sentiments. 

The  treaty  accomplished  by  Gen.  Putnam  was  of  essen- 
tial benefit  to  the  country ;  as  it  neutralized,  and  detached  a 
large  body  of  warriors  from  the  hostile  tribes,  who  lived  near 
to  the  borders  of  Kentucky,  and  thus  lessened  the  strength 
of  our  enemies.  There  were  in  attendance  at  the  treaty, 
six  hundred  and  eighty-six  men,  women  and  children ;  two 
hundred  and  forty-seven  of  which  were  warriors.  After  its 
close,  a  large  quantity  of  clothing  and  ornaments  was  dis- 
tributed amongst  them,  which  served  to  confirm  their  good 
intentions.    On  the  16th  of  September,  nine  days  before  the 


110  RUFUS    PUTNAM. 

opening  of  the  treaty,  he  issued  a  proclamation,  reminding 
the  inhabitants  of  Post  Vincennes  of  the  law  prohibiting  the 
sale  of  spirituous  liquors  to  the  Indians ;  and  forbid  any  one-, 
whether  licensed  or  unlicensed,  from  selling  any  during  the 
continuance  of  the  treaty.  This  was  a  wise  precaution;  as 
when  under  the  influence  of  its  insane  effects,  no  good  could 
have  been  accomplished  with  the  Indians.  On  the  8th  of 
October,  the  inhabitants  of  the  town  made  a  written  address 
to  Gen.  Putnam,  through  Maj.  Vanderburgh,  in  which  they 
congratulate  and  thank  him,  for  the  happy  manner  in  which 
he  had  accomplished  the  treaty  of  peace,  with  a  part  of  the 
hostile  tribes,  and  the  benefits  which  would  result  to  the  in- 
habitants of  that  territory,  from  it.  Amongst  other  tilings, 
they  say,  "  Your  happy  success  in  this  arduous  enterprise 
affords  another  proof,  how  much  you  merit  the  honors  which 
government  has  conferred  upon  you,  and  will  remain  a  me- 
mento of  the  justice  of  Congress,  and  of  your  integrity,  to 
the  latest  times."  It  was  signed  by  Paul  and  Pierre  Gamelin, 
and  the  principal  French  and  English  inhabitants  of  the 
place,  and  remains  a  memorial  of  their  gratitude.  To  this, 
he  returned  a  polite  answer;  and  among  other  things,  says, 
"  It  must  give  a  man  of  sensibility,  peculiar  pleasure,  to  find 
that  his  manner  of  treating  the  Indians  meets  the  approba- 
tion of  a  people  so  long  acquainted  with  their  customs  and 
manners;"  and  closes  with  wishing  them  happiness  and 
prosperity,  "under  a  wise  administration  and  the  blessings 
of  peace." 

Amidst  all  this  complication  of  business,  he  was  suffering 
with  severe  illness,  an  attack  of  intermittent  fever  of  the 
tertian  type,  on  the  25th  of  September,  the  first  day  of  the 
treaty.  This  continued  to  harass  him  until  the  Gth  of  Oc- 
tober. On  the  29th  of  September,  ten  of  the  Indian  chiefs, 
whom  he  had  invited  to  visit  their  father,  the  President  of 


RUFUS    PUTNAM.  Ill 

the  United  States,  left  Post  Vincent,  under  charge  of  Lieut. 
Prior  and  Mr.  Hackenwelder,  who  accompanied  them  as  far 
as  Marietta. 

On  the  10th  of  October,  Gen.  Putnam  left  the  post,  by 
water,  being  yet  weak  and  feeble.  From  sickness  and  va- 
rious delays,  he  did  not  reach  his  home  until  the  18th  of 
December.  On  the  way  up,  he  encamped  one  night  in  com- 
pany with  some  hunters,  who  had  a  full  supply  of  bear  and 
other  wild  meat.  This  was  cooked  in  their  camp-kettle, 
hunter  fashion.  Of  this,  he  ate  very  freely,  contrary  to  the 
advice  of  his  physician,  who  had  forbidden  animal  food ;  and 
ascribed  his  recovery  to  that  night's  repast,  as  from  that 
hour,  his  health  was  rapidly  restored,  and  ague  subdued. 
As  soon  as  he  was  able  to  travel  on  horseback,  he  set  out 
for  Philadelphia,  to  make  his  report  to  the  secretary  of  Avar, 
Henry  Knox.  Soon  after  this,  he  resigned  his  commission 
of  brigadier-general,  he  being  unfit  for  actual  service,  and 
not  wishing  to  retain  an  office,  the  duties  of  which  he  could 
not  fulfill  with  benefit  to  the  government.  On  the  15th  of 
February,  the  secretary  of  war  addressed  to  him  the  following : 
"War  Department,  Feb.  15th,  1793. 

Sir  :  Your  letter  of  yesterday  has  been  submitted  to  the 
President  of  the  United  States — while  he  accepts  your  resig- 
nation, he  regrets  that  your  ill  health  compels  you  to  leave 
the  army,  as  he  had  anticipated  much  good  to  the  troops, 
from  your  experience  as  an  officer.  He  has  commanded  me 
to  tender  you  his  thanks,  for  the  zeal  and  judgment  mani- 
fested in  your  negotiation  with  the  Wabash  Indians,  and 
your  further  endeavors  toward  a  general  pacification. 
I  am,  sir,  with  great  esteem,  your  obedient  servant, 

H.  Knox, 

Secretary  of  War. 

Brig.  Gen.  Rufus  Putnam." 

In  May,  1793,  he  was  appointed  by  the  directors  of  the 


112  RUFUS    PUTNAM. 

Ohio  Company,  superintendent  of  the  surveys  of  one  hun- 
dred thousand  acres  of  land,  donated  by  Congress  to  actual 
settlers,in  the  purchase,  in  lots  of  one  hundred  acres  to  each 
man,  on  the  21st  of  April,  1792.  For  the  encouragement 
of  settlers,  the  surveys  were  actually  begun  and  carried  on 
in  certain  allotments,  on  and  near  the  Muskingum,  in  the 
midst  of  the  war,  and  it  was  so  ordered  that  no  accident 
befell  the  surveyors  from  the  Indians,  although  constantly 
liable  to  their  attacks. 

In  1794,  a  more  safe  and  effectual  mode  of  conducting  the 
intelligence  between  the  army  assembling  on  the  frontiers 
and  the  seat  of  government,  than  that  by  express  through 
Kentucky  and  Carolina,  or  the  chance  and  uncertain  one  by 
travelers  up  and  down  the  river,  had  to  be  devised.  Col. 
Pickering,  the  post  master  general,  proposed  that  of  send- 
ing the  mails  by  water,  in  packet  boats,  which  was  submitted 
to  Gen.  Putnam,  for  his  advice.  He  soon  arranged  a  plan 
that  was  adopted,  of  light  boats,  manned  with  five  men  each, 
to  run  from  Wheeling  to  Limestone,  with  regular  relays,  and 
stations  of  exchange,  one  of  which  was  Marietta.  This 
system  was  put  under  the  superintendence  of  Gen.  Putnam, 
and  found  on  experience  to  be  very  useful,  safe,  and  expedi- 
tious. A  full  account  of  which  is  given  in  the  History  of 
Washington  county. 

In  1795,  he  was  appointed  by  Mr.  Walcott,  secretary  of 
the  treasury,  to  arrange  the  distribution  and  survey  of  the 
twenty-four  thousand  acres  of  land  given  by  Congress  to 
the  French  settlers  at  Gallipolis  which  tract  is  known  by  the 
name  of  the  "  French  Grant."  The  President  also,  through 
Mr.  Walcott,  confided  to  him  the  superintendence  of  the  lay- 
ing out  a  national  road,  located  by  Ebenezer  Zane,  from 
Wheeling  in  Va.,  to  Limestone  in  Ky. 

In  October,  179G,he  was  commissioned  by  the  President 
Gen.  Washington,  surveyor-general  of  the  United  States 


RUFUS    PUTNAM.  113 

lands  —  a  post  of  great  responsibility  ;  requiring  a  thorough 
knowledge  of  the  principles  of  surveying,  and  the  higher 
branches  of  mathematics,  astronomy,  &c,  to  be  able  to  de- 
tect any  errors  that  might  arise  in  the  returns,  of  the  field 
notes,  plats,  &c,  of  the  subordinate  surveyors.  It  also  re- 
quired great  industry  and  constant  vigilance,  in  attending  to 
the  duties  of  the  office,  which  embraced  large  tracts  of  coun- 
try in  the  Northwest  Territory,  now  first  ordered  to  be  sur- 
veyed. The  lands  granted  to  the  officers  of  the  army  for 
military  services  were  surveyed  under  his  direction,  and 
platted  by  himself.  In  this  map  the  width  of  the  streams  is 
given,  as  well  as  their  direction.  The  tract  contains  one 
hundred  and  seventy-four  townships  or  sections,  of  five  miles 
square,  in  twenty  ranges.  The  lands  given  to  the  Moravian 
Indians,  at  Shoenbrun,  Gnadenhutten  and  Salem,  lie  in  this 
tract.  This  office  he  continued  to  hold,  with  great  credit  to 
himself,  and  entire  satisfaction  of  the  government,  until 
September,  1803,  when  Mr.  Mansfield  was  appointed  to 
his  place,  by  Mr.  Jefferson. 

Mr.  Jefferson,  in  his  reply  to  a  remonstrance  of  the  New 
Haven  merchants,  for  some  of  his  removals  in  that  place, 
says,  "  How  are  vacancies  to  be  obtained  ?  Those  by  death 
are  few :  by  resignation  none.  Can  any  other  mode  than 
removal  be  proposed?  I  shall  proceed  with  deliberation, 
that  it  may  be  thrown  as  much  as  possible  on  delinquency, 
oppression,  intolerance,  and  anti-revolutionary  adherence 
to  our  enemies."  And  yet  he  was  well  known  to  have  turned 
out  some  of  the  firmest  Whigs  of  the  revolution.  Gen.  Put- 
nam consoled  himself  under  this  mortifying  act,  by  saying, 
"  I  am  happy  in  having  my  name  enrolled  with  many  others 
who  have  suffered  the  like  political  death,  for  adherence  to 
those  correct  principles  and  measures,  in  the  pursuance  of 
which  our  country  rose  from  a  state  of  weakness,  disgrace, 

and  poverty,  to  strength,  honor,  and  credit." 
8 


114  RUFUS    PUTNAM. 

In  1798,  he  devised  a  plan  for  erecting  a  building,  by  a 
company  of  proprietors,  for  the  purposes  of  education,  to  be 
called  the  "Muskingum  Academy,"  which  is  believed  to  have 
been  the  first  in  the  state,  for  branches  of  learning  higher 
than  those  taught  in  common  schools.  The  stock  amounted 
to  one  thousand  dollars,  of  which  he  was  one  of  the  princi 
pal  owners.  A  building  was  put  up  in  front  of  the  large 
commons  on  the  Muskingum,  which  continued  to  be  occu- 
pied for  the  purposes  of  education  for  more  than  twenty 
years.  It  also  served  for  a  place  of  public  worship  until 
the  year  1808,  for  the  first  Congregational  society,  who  were 
the  principal  owners. 

In  1801,  he  was  appointed  by  the  Territorial  Legislature, 
one  of  the  trustees  of  the  Ohio  University,  established  at 
Athens,  and  spent  a  great  deal  of  time  in  bringing  the  lands 
for  its  support  into  available  use  ;  and  in  forming  rules  and 
regulations  for  the  government  of  the  college.  It  was  a 
subject  in  which  he  felt  the  deepest  interest,  and  had  been 
one  of  the  principal  movers  of  the  plan,  appropriating  two 
full  townships  of  land  for  its  support,  in  the  purchase  made 
by  the  Ohio  Company  from  Congress  in  1789.  This  land, 
be  it  remembered,  icas  not  a  gift  of  the  United  States,  but 
a  part  of  the  contract  made  in  the  bargain  by  the  agents 
of  the  company  with  the  Board  of  the  Treasury.  The  en- 
dowment of  this  institution,  and  seeing  it  put  in  actual  oper- 
ation, were  subjects  which  lay  near  his  heart,  and  which  he 
lived  to  see  fulfilled,  and  a  number  of  young  men,  now 
among  the  most  eminent  in  the  state,  there  educated  and 
receive  literary  degrees. 

In  1802,  he  was  elected  by  the  citizens  of  Washington 
county,  then  embracing  a  large  territory,  a  member  of  the 
convention  to  form  a  constitution  for  the  state  of  Ohio.  It 
was  an  arduous  and  difficult  labor,  in  which  many  conflict- 
ing views  were  to  be  harmonized,  but  was  finally  completed 


RUFUS    PUTNAM.  115 

in  the  best  manner  the  period  and  times  would  allow.  A 
history  of  the  parties,  and  the  secret  springs  put  in  motion 
during  the  formation  of  this  important  document,  which  was 
to  shape  the  destiny  of  future  millions,  for  weal  or  woe, 
would  now  be  a  narrative  of  peculiar  interest,  and  may  be 
expected  from  the  pen  of  one  the  few  remaining  living  mem- 
bers of  that  convention,  in  an  article  for  the  Historical  Soci- 
ety of  Ohio. 

In  January,  1806,  the  Rev.  Samuel  Priuce  Robbins  was 
settled  as  pastor  over  the  church  and  congregation  of  which 
he  was  a  member.  In  1807,  he  drafted  the  plan  of  a  large 
frame  building  for  a  church,  which  was  executed  under  his 
superintendence,  the  funds  being  raised  by  the  more  wealthy 
members  of  the  society  and  his  own  liberal  subscription, 
amounting  to  fifteen  hundred  dollars.  It  was  finished  and 
occupied  in  1808,  and  yet  remains  a  monument  of  his  devo- 
tion and  zeal  to  the  cause  of  religion.  Thirty  of  the  pews 
were  reserved  by  him,  and  in  his  will,  the  annual  rents  de- 
voted to  the  support  of  the  pastor,  and  a  Sunday  school ; 
equally  divided  between  them.  In  his  latter  years,  when  he 
had  retired  from  the  active  pursuits  of  life,  his  mind  was 
much  occupied  in  devising  plans  for  the  promotion  of  the 
gospel.  In  1812,  he  was  deeply  engaged  with  several  others 
in  forming  a  Bible  Society,  the  first  that  was  organized 
west  of  the  mountains,  and  subscribed  very  liberally  for  its 
support.  It  has  continued  to  flourish  until  this  day,  and  has 
been  the  means  of  spreading  that  blessed  book  amongst 
thousands  of  the  destitute  in  this,  and  the  adjacent  counties. 

A  correspondence,  by  letters,  was  kept  up  with  his  old  as- 
sociates of  the  Revolutionary  war,  and  in  one  of  the  letters 
from  Gov.  Strong  of  Massachusetts,  in  1812,  he  writes,  "By 
your  letter,  I  am  convinced  that  your  sentiments  with  regard 
to  the  present  war,  are  similar  to  my  own.  Your  old  ac- 
quaintances, Gen.  Brooks,  (afterward  Gov.  of  Massachusetts,) 


116  RUFUS    PUTNAM. 

and  Gen.  Cobb,  are  of  the  council.  I  read  to  them 
your  letter,  and  they  expressed  in  the  warmest  terms  their 
friendship  and  respect  for  you."  Such  manifestations  of  the 
regard  and  friendship  of  Ins  early  associates,  served  to  ani- 
mate and  warm  his  heart,  as  old  age  approached,  and 
console  him  for  the  great  political  changes  winch  were  con- 
tinually going  on. 

In  his  religious  character,  he  was  equally  faithful  and  ener- 
getic, as  in  his  military  and  civil.  In  the  year  1816,  a  gen- 
tleman removed  to  Marietta  from  Massachusetts,  who  had 
been  engaged  as  a  teacher  in  Sunday  schools,  and  well 
acquainted  with  conducting  those  seminaries  of  good  prin- 
ciples, in  which  that  state  was  ever  foremost.  At  that  period 
it  was  a  new  thing  in  the  west,  and  none  were  in  operation 
in  the  valley  of  the  Ohio.  Gen.  Putnam  was  quite  anxious 
to  have  one  established  in  Marietta,  and  made  many  in- 
quiries of  the  teacher  as  to  the  manner  of  conducting  them. 
After  one  of  these  interviews,  he  sent  for  him  one  day,  and 
related  to  him  a  dream  he  had  the  night  before.  He  thought 
he  was  standing  by  a  window  in  a  large  public  building,  and 
saw  a  procession  of  children  neatly  clad,  approaching  with 
music.  He  asked  a  bystander  the  meaning  of  the  show 
who  answered,  "  These  are  the  children  of  the  Sabbath 
school."  After  this  relation  he  remarked  to  the  teacher  that 
he  thought  he  should  live  to  see  the  dream  fulfilled.  The 
following  spring,  a  Sabbath  school  was  commenced  in  the 
Muskingum  Academy,  and  continued  through  the  summer. 
The  next  year,  or  in  1818,  three  schools  were  opened  in  dif- 
ferent parts  of  the  town.  In  the  autumn,  when  the  time  for 
closing  them  arrived,  they  then  being  laid  aside  in  the  winter, 
the  three  schools  were  assembled  at  the  academy,  and  a 
procession  formed,  which  marched  from  that  building  on  to 
the  bank  of  the  Muskingum,  and  thence  to  the  Congrega- 
tional church.     As  the  teacher,  before  mentioned,  entered 


RUFUS    PUTNAM.  117 

the  house,  Gen.  Putnam  was  standing  at  the  window  from 
which  he  had  viewed  the  approach  of  the  procession,  and 
as  the  tears  flowed  from  his  eyes,  exclaimed  "  Here  is  the 
fulfillment  of  my  dream  !" 

In  the  spring  of  1820,  a  revival  of  religion  commenced 
in  Marietta,  and  frequent  evening  meetings  were  held  for 
prayer,  but  being  very  old  and  infirm,  he  was  unable  to  at- 
tend them.  A  friend  remarked  to  him  that  he  supposed  it 
was  a  source  of  regret  to  him,  that  he  could  not  meet  with 
them  at  this  interesting  period.  "  I  do  meet  with  you,"  was 
his  prompt  reply;  meaning  by  this,  as  was  afterward  ascer- 
tained, that  he  spent  the  whole  time  of  the  meeting  in  his 
closet,  engaged  in  secret  prayer. 

About  the  year  1821,  a  company  of  missionaries  from 
New  England,  arrived  at  Marietta,  on  their  way  to  the  Osage 
Indians.  Two  young  ladies,  who  stayed  with  Mr.  William 
Slocomb,  expressed  a  strong  desire  of  seeing  Gen.  Putnam, 
and  he  accompanied  them  to  his  house.  After  many  inqui- 
ries as  to  the  prospects  of  the  mission,  and  expressing  his 
ardent  desire  for  its  success,  he  abruptly  asked  them  if  they 
had  any  fresh  meat  on  board  their  boat?  Finding  they  had 
none,  he  turned  to  Mr.  Slocomb  and  said,  "  I  now  see 
through  the  whole  mystery  ;  I  have  an  ox  that  has  been  fat- 
ting for  more  than  a  year,  and  for  several  months  past  have 
tried  to  sell  him,  but  could  not.  I  now  understand  the  rea- 
son: the  Lord  has  designed  him  for  this  mission  family.  I 
will  have  him  killed  and  dressed  by  eight  o'clock  in  the 
morning,  and  do  you  have  barrels  and  salt  ready  at  the 
boat,  for  packing  what  cannot  be  used  fresh."  All  was  done 
as  he  directed. 

For  some  time  before  his  death,  being  unable  to  attend 
public  worship,  a  duty  he  had  never  failed  to  perform,  in  all 
weather,  while  able  to  walk  that  distance,  it  was  his  weekly 
practice  to  rehearse  in  his  own  mind,  the  articles  of  the 


118  RUFUS    PUTNAM. 

Assembly's*  Shorter  Catechism,  lest  from  not  hearing  the 
preached  word,  he  might  lose  sight  of  the  great  principles 
and  doctrines  of  the  Christian  religion ;  a  practice  well  worthy 
the  attention  of  modern  professors.  Many  other  examples 
might  be  given  of  his  devotion  to  the  cause  of  religion,  but 
these  will  suffice  to  show  his  habitual  feelings  on  this  mo- 
mentous subject. 

He  lost  his  excellent  and  faithful  wife  in  the  year  1820; 
but  his  last  years  were  made  comfortable,  and  happy  by  the 
unremitting  and  affectionate  attention  of  his  pious  maiden 
daughter,  Elizabeth. 

His  final  departure  was  like  that  of  the  righteous;  and  his 
last  end  full  of  hope  and  heavenly  consolation.  Although 
he  was  for  many  years  the  master  of  a  lodge  of  Masons,  to 
which  he  became  attached  during  the  war,  yet  he  enjoined 
it  upon  his  son,  as  one  of  his  last  orders,  that  his  burial 
should  be  conducted  without  any  of  the  forms  and  ceremo- 
nies common  at  the  funerals  of  those  the  world  calls  great, 
but  in  the  most  simple  manner  ever  practiced  on  these  oc- 
casions ;  choosing  rather  to  be  buried  as  a  humble  follower 
of  Christ,  than  with  the  showy  forms  of  military  or  Masonic 
pageantry.  He  died  in  May,  1824,  in  the  eighty-seventh 
year  of  his  age. 

In  person,  Gen.  Putnam  was  tall,  nearly  six  feet;  stout, 
and  commanding :  features  strongly  marked,  with  a  calm, 
resolute  expression  of  countenance,  indicating  firmness  and 
decision,  so  peculiar  to  the  men  who  figured  in  the  American 
revolution:  eyes  grey,  and  one  of  them  disfigured  by  an 
injury  in  childhood,  which  gave  it  an  outward,  oblique  cast, 
leaving  the  expression  of  his  face  strongly  impressed  on  the 
mind  of  the  beholder.  His  manner  was  abrupt,  prompt, 
and  decisive ;  a  trait  peculiar  to  the  Putnam  family,  but, 
withal,  kind  and  conciliating.  In  conversation,  he  was 
very  interesting;  possessing  a  rich  fund  of  anecdote,  and 


RUFUS    PUTNAM.  119 

valuable  facts  in  the  history  of  men  and  things  with  which  he 
had  been  familiar;  delivered  in  a  straightforward,  impress- 
ive manner,  very  instructive  and  pleasant  to  the  hearer. 
The  impress  of  his  character  is  strongly  marked  on  the 
population  of  Marietta,  in  their  buildings,  institutions,  and 
manners;  so  true  it  is,  that  new  settlements,  like  children, 
continue  to  bear  through  life,  more  or  less,  the  impressions 
and  habits  of  their  early  childhood. 


ABRAHAM    WHIPPLE. 

Abraham  Whipple  was  a  descendant  of  John  Whipple,  one 
of  the  original  proprietors  of  the  Providence  plantations, 
and  associate  of  Roger  Williams,  who  is  considered  the 
founder  of  the  colony.  He  was  born  in  Providence,  Rhode 
Island,  in  the  year  1733. 

His  early  education  was  very  imperfect ;  but  possessing 
a  naturally  strong  mind,  and  great  resolution  of  purpose, 
he  acquired  in  the  course  of  the  sea-faring  life  which  he  fol- 
lowed at  an  early  period,  sufficient  knowledge  of  naviga- 
tion, and  the  keeping  accounts,  to  conduct  the  command  of 
vessels  in  the  West  India  trade,  with  credit  to  himself  and 
profit  to  his  employers.  The  intercourse  of  the  colonists 
was  restricted  by  Mother  Britain  to  that  of  her  own  posses- 
sions, with  an  exception  in  favor  of  the  Dutch  port  of  Surinam 
on  the  main,  and  the  Danish  island  of  St.  Croix.  This  busi- 
ness he  followed  for  many  years  previous  to  the  war  of  the 
Revolution,  and  several  letters  from  Nicholas  Brown,  one  of 
the  earliest  merchants  of  Providence,  and  in  whose  employ 
he  sailed,  are  on  file  amongst  his  papers,  containing  instruc- 
tions for  the  conduct  of  the  voyage.  Toward  the  close  of 
the  old  French  war,  after  the  king  of  Spain  had  taken  up 
arms  against  England,  he  was  employed  as  the  commander 
of  a  privateer  called  the  Game  Cock.*    During  the  cruise 


*  The  following  notice  of  an  early  cruise  of  Com.  Whipple,  was  procured  for  me 
by  my  friend  Dr.  P.  G.  Robbins,  of  Roxbury,  from  an  old  file  of  the  Boston  Post- 
boy and  Advertiser,  of  February  4th,  1760,  now  in  the  Historical  Society  roonio,  at 
Boston. 

"  Last  Tuesday  returned  to  Providence,  after  a  successful  cruise,  Capt.  Abraham 
Whipple,  of  the  Game  Cock  privateer;  who  sailed  from  this  place  on  the  19th  of 
July  last,  having  taken  in  said  cruise,  twenty-three  French  prizes,  many  of  which 


OF   THE 
UNIVERSITY  OF  ILLINOIS 


ABRAHAM    WHIPPLE.  121 

he  captured  a  valuable  Spanish  ship,  by  running  alongside, 
and  carried  her  by  boarding  without  much  resistance. 

It  was  during  this  period  of  his  early  life  that  the  follow- 
ing event  took  place,  while  in  the  southerly  portion  of  the 
Gulf  of  Mexico,  on  his  return  from  a  West  India  voyage, 
in  a  large  armed  ship  or  letter  of  marque,  the  larger  portion 
of  whose  guns,  however,  were  of  wrood,  technically  called 
"  quakers."  In  a  severe  gale,  he  wras  obliged  to  throw  over- 
board a  part  of  his  armament,  especially  a  number  of  his 
metal  guns,  leaving  him  in  quite  a  defenseless  condition. 
Soon  after  this  event  a  French  privateer  appeared  in  chase. 
She  was  full  of  men,  as  he  ascertained  by  his  telescope,  and 
far  outnumbered  him  in  guns ;  although  but  for  the  late 
disaster,  as  his  ship  was  much  the  largest,  and  pretty  well 
manned,  he  might  have  made  a  stout  defense,  but  under  pres- 
ent circumstances  his  only  chance  for  escape  wras  by  flight. 
Capt.  "Whipple,  after  sailing  as  close  to  the  wind  as  possible, 
and  trying  the  speed  of  the  enemy  on  that  course,  found 
him  constantly  gaining  on  him,  and  that  his  hope  of  safety 
must  rest  on  a  ruse  de  guerre,  in  which  he  was  always  ready. 
He  directed  his  sailors  to  set  up  a  number  of  handspikes, 
with  hats  and  caps  on  them,  looking  at  a  distance  like  men 
at  their  stations  ready  for  action,  which,  in  addition  to  his  ac- 
tual crew,  appeared  quite  formidable.  Being  to  the  windward 
of  the  enemy,  he  directed  the  man  at  the  wheel  to  put  the  ship 
about,  and  bear  down  directly  upon  Mm,  showing  his  broad- 
side of  quaker  guns  and  deck  full  of  men  to  great  advan- 
tage. The  privateer  was  taken  all  aback  ;  and  thinking  the 
former  attempt  at  flight  only  a  stratagem  to  entice  her  within 
reach  of  her  shot,  instantly  put  about,  and  with  all  haste 


were  valuable.  Capt.  W.  on  his  passage  home  on  the  26th  of  January,  spoke  with 
Capt.  Robert  Brown,  in  a  sloop  from  Monte  Christo,  bound  to  New  York,  in  lat.  39 
deg.  30  min.,  and  long.  72  deg.  40  min.  in  great  distress  for  want  of  water  and  pro- 
visions, which  he  generously  supplied  him." 


122  ABRAHAM    WHIPPLE. 

escaped  from  her  cunning  antagonist.  Capt.  Whipple  kept, 
on  the  chase  until  the  privateer  had  run  nearly  out  of  sight, 
when,  with  a  shrug  of  the  shoulder,  and  a  hearty  laugh  at 
the  success  of  his  stratagem,  he  ordered  the  steersman  to 
up  helm,  and  bear  away  on  the  proper  course  for  his  des- 
tined port. 

His  ready  and  prompt  mind  wa3  never  at  a  loss  for  expe- 
dients in  all  such  emergencies,  and  generally  succeeded  in 
turning  them  to  his  own  advantage,  as  will  be  seen  in  his 
after  life.  This  exploit  gained  him  a  good  deal  of  credit 
with  his  townsmen,  and  was  doubtless  the  reason  of  his 
being  selected  a  few  years  after  to  command  the  company 
of  volunteers  who  captured  and  burnt  the  British  schooner 
Gaspe,  the  tender  of  a  ship  of  war,  stationed  in  Narragan- 
sett  bay,  to  enforce  the  maritime  laws.  These  restrictions 
had  become  very  odious  and  unpopular  to  the  inhabitants 
of  Newport  and  Providence :  the  Gaspe  especially,  com- 
manded by  Lieut.  Buddington,  of  the  navy,  with  a  crew  of 
twenty-seven  men,  had  become  the  terror  of  all  the  shipping 
entering  these  ports ;  not  only  by  overhauling  their  cargoes, 
and  confiscating  the  goods,  but  by  pressing  the  men  into 
the  British  service.  At  this  time,  the  commerce  of  Newport 
and  Providence  together,  exceeded  that  of  New  York,  whose 
retail  traders  often  visited  the  former  town,  to  purchase  dry 
goods  and  other  merchandise  of  the  importers,  as  the  smaller 
cities  now  visit  New  York.  Newport,  next  to  Boston,  owned 
a  larger  number  of  vessels  than  any  other  port  on  the  coast. 
The  attempts  of  the  king  and  parliament  of  Great  Britian 
to  enforce  the  old  navigation  act,  with  the  stamp  act,  duties 
on  tea,  and  quartering  large  bodies  of  troops  on  the  colo- 
nists, to  tame  them  into  obedience,  only  served  to  rouse 
their  jealousy,  and  excite  their  disgust.  While  the  inhabit- 
ants were  filled  with  fears  of  coming  evils,  and  the  public 
mind  roused  up  to  resistance,  an  event  took  place  in  the 


ABRAHAM    WHIPPLE.  123 

waters  of  Rhode  Island,  which  may  be  considered  as  the 
"overt  act"  to  the  Revolution  which  soon  followed. 

On  the  17th  of  June,  1772,  a  Providence  packet,  that  plied 
between  New  York  and  Rhode  Island,  named  the  Hannah, 
and  commanded  by  Capt.  Linzee,  hove  in  sight  of  the  man- 
of-war,  in  her  passage  up  the  bay.  She  was  ordered  to  bring 
to,  for  examination;  but  Linzee  refused  to  comply;  and 
being  favored  with  a  fresh  southerly  breeze,  that  was  fast 
carrying  him  out  of  gunshot  of  the  ship,  the  tender  was  sig- 
naled to  follow.  In  pursuing  the  chase,  the  Gaspe  was  led 
on  to  a  shoal,  which  puts  out  from  Nan  quit  point,  but  which 
the  lighter  draught  of  the  Hannah  enabled  her  to  pass  in 
safety.  The  tender  here  stuck  fast;  and  as  the  tide  fell,  she 
careened  partly  on  to  her  side.  The  packet  reached  Provi- 
dence before  dark,  and  soon  spread  the  news  of  the  chase, 
and  the  helpless  condition  of  the  hated  Gaspe.  A  muster 
of  the  sailors  and  sea-faring  people  soon  followed;  who, 
after  choosing  Capt.  Whipple  for  their  leader,  embarked,  to 
the  number  of  sixty,  in  eight  row-boats.  The  men  were 
without  arms,  excepting  one  musket,  which  was  shipped 
without  Whipple's  consent,  as  he  intended  no  harm  to  the 
crew,  unless  opposed  by  force,  but  only  to  board  the  vessel, 
land  the  crew,  and  then  set  her  on  fire.  They,  however,  put 
into  each  boat  a  large  quantity  of  pebble  stones,  intending 
them  as  articles  of  offense,  if  necessary.  As  they  approached 
the  schooner,  about  two  o'clock  in  the  morning,  they  were 
hailed  by  the  sentinel,  and  asked,  "Who  commands  them 
boats  ?  "  Whipple  instantly  answered,  "  The  sheriff  of  the 
county  of  Kent;"  and,  "  I  come  to  arrest  Capt.  Buddington." 
The  captain  was  by  this  time  on  deck,  and  warned  the  boats 
not  to  approach ;  which  they  not  heeding,  he  fired  his  pistol 
at  them ;  at  this  moment,  a  boy  who  had  possession  of  the 
musket,  discharged  it,  and  wounded  the  captain  in  the  thigh ; 
a  volley  of  pebbles  followed  the  discharge,  and  WThipple,  at 


124  ABRAHAM    WHIPPLE. 

the  head  of  his  men,  boarded  the  schooner,  driving  the  crew 
below.  After  securing  them,  they  were  taken  on  shore,  and 
the  Gaspe  burnt.  The  party  returned  in  triumph  to  Provi- 
dence, and  knowing  that  their  conduct  amounted  to  treason 
against  the  king,  no  one  said  anything  about  it;  and,  al- 
though the  secret  was  confided  to  not  less  than  sixty  per- 
sons, so  deep  was  the  hatred  and  indignation  of  the  people, 
that  no  one  disclosed  it,  or  let  any  hint  drop  that  could  be 
used  as  proof  against  their  companions.  This  bold  step 
naturally  excited  great  indignation  in  the  British  officers, 
and  all  possible  means  were  taken  to  discover  the  offenders. 
Wanton,  the  colonial  governor  of  Rhode  Island,  issued  his 
proclamation,  offering  a  reward  of  one  hundred  pounds  ster- 
ling, for  the  discovery  of  any  of  those  concerned.  Soon 
after,  the  Icing's  proclamation  appeared,  offering  one  thou- 
sand pounds  for  the  man  who  called  himself  the  high  sheriff, 
and  five  hundred  pounds  for  any  other  of  the  party ;  with 
the  promise  of  a  pardon  should  the  informer  have  been  one 
of  the  party.  But  notwithstanding  these  tempting  offers,  so 
general  was  the  dislike  of  the  community  to  their  oppress- 
ors, and  their  patriotism  so  true,  that  "no  evidence  was  ever 
obtained,  sufficient  to  arraign  a  single  individual ;  although 
a  commission  of  inquiry,  under  the  great  seal  of  England, 
sat  in  Newport  from  January  to  June,  during  the  year  1773." 
Cooper's  Naval  History.  Capt.  Whipple,  however,  soon 
after  sailed  on  a  trading  voyage  to  the  West  Indies,  and  did 
not  return  until  1774,  when  the  event  was  in  a  manner 
forgotten. 

In  the  meantime,  aggressions  and  restrictions  were  heaped 
on  the  colonists,  until  they  became  insupportable,  and  reac- 
tion began  to  take  place.  After  the  Boston  Port  Bill  was 
passed,  by  which  the  commerce  of  that  flourishing  town  was 
entirely  destroyed,  as  an  offset  for  the  destruction  of  the 
tea  chests  of  the  East  India  Company,  resistance  became 


ABRAHAM    WHIPPLE.  125 

more  open,  especially  subsequent  to  the  passage  of  the  act 
prohibiting  the  exportation  of  military  stores  from  England 
to  the  colonies.  Fully  aware  of  the  approaching  contest, 
and  the  destitute  condition  of  the  inhabitants  of  the  materi- 
als for  resistance,  they  began,  in  many  places,  to  seize  upon 
the  military  stores  of  the  crown.  Every  garrison,  fort,  and 
magazine,  being  in  possession  of  the  king's  officers,  and 
many  of  the  inhabitants  destitute  of  arms,  and  still  more  so 
of  ammunition,  it  was  absolutely  necessary  to  resort  to  vio- 
lence for  the  purpose  of  arming  themselves.  At  Portsmouth, 
N.  H.,  a  quantity  of  powder  was  taken  from  the  castle  in 
the  harbor,  and  the  citizens  of  Providence  seized  on  twenty- 
six  guns  at  Fort  Island,  and  carried  them  up  to  their  town. 
It  was  to  destroy  a  magazine  of  provisions  and  other  stores, 
collected  by  the  inhabitants  for  the  coming  contest,  at  Con- 
cord, Mass.,  that  the  British  made  their  celebrated  inroad  on 
the  19th  of  April,  1775;  and  the  war  fairly  opened  by  the 
slaughter  of  the  militia  at  Lexington.  From  this  point,  the 
spirit  of  resistance  flew,  like  an  electric  shock,  from  heart  to 
heart,  until  it  pervaded  the  land. 

The  little  colony  of  Rhode  Island,  ever  foremost  in  the 
cause  of  liberty,  within  one  year  and  one  month  after  the 
blood  shed  at  Lexington,  renounced  their  allegiance  to  the 
king  of  Great  Britain,  by  a  solemn  act  of  their  Legislature  ; 
thus  preceding,  by  two  months,  the  declaration  of  indepen- 
dence by  the  Congress  of  the  assembled  colonies.  This 
simple,  but  resolute  document  ought  to  be  preserved  in  let- 
ters of  gold.  It  is  styled,  "An  Act  of  May,  1776,  renouncing 
allegiance  to  the  king  of  Great  Britain ; "  and  thus  proceeds : 
"  Whereas  in  all  states  existing  by  compact,  protection  and 
allegiance  are  reciprocal ;  the  latter  being  only  due  in  con- 
sequence of  the  former :  and  whereas  George  the  Third,  king 
of  Great  Britain,  forgetting  his  dignity,  regardless  of  the 
compact  most  solemnly  entered  into,  ratified  and  confirmed 


12G  ABRAHAM    WHIPPLE. 

to  the  inhabitants  of  this  colony,  by  his  illustrious  ances- 
tors, and  till  of  late,  fully  recognised  by  him;  and  entirely 
departing  from  the  duties  and  character  of  a  good  king,  in- 
stead of  protecting,  is  endeavoring  to  destroy  the  good  peo- 
ple of  this  colony,  and  of  all  the  united  colonies,  by  sending 
fleets  and  armies  to  America,  to  confiscate  our  property, 
and  spread  fire,  sword,  and  desolation  throughout  our  coun- 
try, in  order  to  compel  us  to  submit  to  the  most  debasing 
and  detestable  tyranny ;  whereby  we  are  obliged  by  neces- 
sity, and  it  becomes  our  highest  duty,  to  use  every  means 
with  which  God  and  nature  have  furnished  us,  in  support 
of  our  invaluable  rights  and  privileges,  to  oppose  the  power 
winch  is  exerted  for  our  destruction."  They  then  go  on  to 
repeal  a  certain  act  of  allegiance  to  the  king,  then  in  force, 
and  to  enact  a  law,  whereby,  in  all  commissions  of  a  civil 
or  military  nature,  the  name  of  the  king  shall  be  omitted, 
and  that  of  the  governor  and  company  of  the  English  col- 
ony of  Rhode  Island  and  Providence  Plantations,  substituted 
in  its  place;  and  in  all  oaths  of  office,  the  officers  shall 
swear  to  be  faithful  and  true  to  the  colony. 

Moved  by  the  same  feelings  which  produced  this  declara- 
tion in  1776,  the  Legislature,  in  June,  1775,  two  days  before 
the  battle  of  Bunker  hill,  purchased  and  armed  two  sloops, 
one  of  twelve,  and  the  other  of  eight  guns,  appointing 
Capt.  Whipple  to  the  command  of  the  larger,  and  Capt. 
Grimes  to  the  smaller,  who  was  to  act  under  the  orders  of 
Whipple.  The  larger  vessel  was  named  the  Providence. 
The  object  of  this  armament  was  to  clear  the  bay  of  the 
British  tenders  to  the  frigate  Rose,  under  the  command  of 
Sir  James  Wallace,  who  blockaded  the  mouths  of  the  har- 
bors and  rivers,  preventing  the  getting  to  sea  of  numerous 
vessnls,  and  the  entry  of  such  as  were  coming  into  port. 
On  the  15th  of  June,  Whipple  sailed,  with  his  command, 
down  the   bay  of  Narraganset,  and   attacked  two  of  the 


ABRAHAM    WHIPPLE.  127 

enemy's  tenders,  which  he  disabled,  and  forced  to  retire  under 
the  guns  of  the  frigate,  and  took  one  other  a  prize ;  while 
by  the  light  draught  of  his  own  vessels  he  could  keep  out 
of  the  reach  of  the  man-of-war.  By  this  bold  act  the  bay 
was  cleared  of  these  nuisances,  and  a  large  number  of 
homeward-bound  vessels  entered  the  port. 

Much  has  been  said  and  written,  as  to  whom  was  due  the 
credit  of  firing  the  first  gun  on  the  sea,  at  the  British,  in  the 
opening  of  the  Revolutionary  war.  After  the  above  state- 
ment, which  comes  from  the  pen  of  Capt.  Whipple  himself, 
in  a  petition  to  Congress  in  the  year  1786,  little  doubt  need 
be  felt  as  to  the  propriety  of  assigning  to  him  that  honor. 
It  is  true  that  an  unauthorized  attack  was  made  on  the  British 
schooner  Margaretta,  by  the  Machias  people  in  May,  which 
for  its  spirit  and  bravery  deserves  great  credit,  but  was  a 
mere  private  transaction ;  while  Whipple  fired  the  first  gun 
under  any* legal  or  colonial  authority.  This  daring  deed 
was  performed  at  a  time,  when  no  other  man  in  the  colony 
would  undertake  the  hazardous  employment,  lest  he  might 
be  destined  to  the  halter  by  Capt.  Wallace,  who  threatened 
to  apply  it  to  all  who  should  be  taken  in  arms  against  his 
majesty.  The  people  were  not  yet  ready  for  open  resist- 
ance to  the  king,  but  expected  that  parliament  would  finally 
relent  from  their  rigorous  measures,  and  love  and  friendship 
be  again  restored  between  their  revered  parent  and  her  un- 
dutiful  children. 

Since  the  prospect  of  an  open  rupture  daily  increased,  the 
old  affair  of  the  Gaspe  was  no  longer  kept  in  the  dark,  but 
the  name  of  the  leader  in  that  daring  exploit,  came  to  the 
ears  of  Capt.  Wallace,  who  sent  him  the  following  plain,  if 
not  very  polite  note : 

"  You,  Abraham  Whipple,  on  the  1 7th  of  June,  1772,  burned 
his  majesty's  vessel,  the  Gaspe,  and  I  will  hang  you  at  the 
yard-arm.  James  Wallace." 


128  ABRAHAM    WHIPPLE. 

To  which  the  captain  returned  this  laconic  and  Spartan 
answer : 

"  To  Sir  James  Wallace  : 

Sir  :  Always  catch  a  man  before  you  hang  him. 

Abraham  Whipple." 

Notwithstanding  these  threats,  he  continued  to  cruise  in 
the  Narraganset  bay  until  the  12th  of  September;  during 
which  period  he  fought  several  actions  with  vessels  of  supe- 
rior fdrce,  beating  them  off,  and  protecting  the  commerce 
of  the  state.  These  spirited  combats  infused  new  courage 
into  the  inhabitants  of  the  neighboring  colonies,  as  well  as 
his  own,  and  demonstrated  that  the  British  were  not  invinci- 
ble on  the  water.  Maritime  events  like  these,  with  those  con- 
ducted by  Capt.  Manly,  led  Congress  to  the  consideration  of 
defending  themselves  and  the  country  on  the  ocean,  as  well 
as  on  the  land;  and  in  October,  1775,  a  marine  committee 
was  appointed  to  superintend  the  naval  affairs. 

About  the  20th  of  September,  he  was  ordered  by  the  gov- 
ernor of  Rhode  Island,  to  proceed,  with  the  sloop  Providence, 
to  the  island  of  Bermuda,  and  seize  upon  the  powder  in  the 
magazine  of  that  place;  this  article  being  greatly  needed 
by  the  country,  which  depended  altogether  on  foreign  sup- 
plies, not  yet  having  learned  to  manufacture  for  themselves. 
This  order  was  obeyed  with  due  diligence  and  bravery,  but 
was  unsuccessful,  from  the  circumstance  of  the  powder 
having  been  removed  before  his  arrival.  While  on  this  ser- 
vice, he  narrowly  escaped  capture  by  two  of  the  enemy's 
ships  of  war,  which  were  on  that  station.  lie,  however,  by 
his  daring  and  nautical  skill,  escaped;  and  arrived  at  Rhode 
Island  on  the  9th  of  December,  and  resumed  his  former 
employment  of  cruising  in  the  bay,  until  the  10th  of  that 
month. 

While  absent  on  the  voyage  to  Bermuda,  Congress  di- 
rected the  marine  committee  to  purchase  two  swift  sailing 


ABRAHAM    WHIPPLE.  129 

vessels;  the  one  of  ten,  and  the  other  of  twelve  guns.  Un- 
der this  order  the  Providence  was  purchased.  Still  later  in 
the  month,  the  marine  committee  were  directed  to  purchase 
two  additional  ships,  one  of  thirty-six  guns,  and  the  other 
of  twenty.  In  pursuance  of  this  order,  the  Alfred  and  Co- 
lumbus were  bought  at  Philadelphia,  both  of  them  merchant 
ships.  To  these  were  added  two  brigs,  the  Cabot,  and  the 
Andrea  Doria,  making  a  naval  force  of  six  vessels,  belong- 
ing to  the  United  States ;  of  which  the  little  Providence  was 
the  only  one  that  had  been  in  active  service. 

At  this  period  of  the  contest,  no  regular  war  ships  had 
been  built,  and  the  government  had  to  select  such  vessels 
as  the  mercantile  service  afforded,  until  ships  of  war  could 
be  constructed.  In  the  month  of  December,  1775,  Congress 
directed  thirteen  warlike  vessels  to  be  built,  and  the  marine 
committee  increased  to  thirteen,  or  one  for  each  state.  In 
1776,  two  navy  boards,  consisting  of  three  persons  each,  one 
for  the  eastern  district,  and  one  for  the  middle  district,  were 
established,  subordinate  to  the  marine  committee ;  by  which 
arrangement  a  large  portion  of  the  executive  business  was 
accomplished.  Several  letters  from  these  boards  will  be  re- 
ferred to  in  the  course  of  this  biography. 

On  the  19th  of  December,  Capt.  Whipple  received  orders 
from  the  marine  committee,  to  proceed  with  the  Providence 
sloop,  now  under  their  direction,  to  Philadelphia.  On  his 
way  out,  he  captured  one  of  the  enemy's  vessels,  and  sent 
her  into  Providence. 

On  the  22d  of  the  month,  by  a  resolution  of  Congress, 
Dudley  Saltonstall  was  appointed  captain  of  the  Alfred  frig- 
ate, Abraham  Whipple  of  the  Columbus,  Nicholas  Biddle 
of  the  Andrea  Doria,  and  John  B.  Hopkins  of  the  Cabot. 
Haysted  Hacker,  lieutenant  of  the  Providence,  was  promoted 
to   her  command.     The    celebrated  John  Paul  Jones   was 

first  lieutenant  of  the  Alfred,  and  Jonathan  Pitcher,  of  the 
9 


130  ABRAHAM    WHIPPLE. 

Columbus :  Esek  Hopkins,  an  old  man,  commander-in-chief, 
as  they  chose  to  style  the  leader  of  their  squadron.  During 
the  winter,  the  young  flotilla,  while  fitting  for  a  cruise,  was 
frozen  up  in  the  Delaware  river.  Com.  Hopkins,  however,  got 
to  sea  on  the  17th  of  February,  177G,  with  seven  armed  ves- 
sels under  his  command,  the  largest  of  which  was  the  Alfred 
of  twenty-four  guns  instead  of  thirty-six,  and  bore  away 
southerly,  in  quest  of  a  small  squadron  under  Lord  Dun- 
more  ;  but  not  falling  in  with  him,  concluded  to  make  a-  de- 
scent on  the  island  of  New  Providence,  for  the  purpose  of  cap- 
turing military  stores.  This  service  was  performed  under  the 
conduct  of  Capt.  Nichols,  the  senior  officer  of  the  marines,  at 
the  head  of  three  hundred  men,  whose  landing  from  the  boats 
of  the  squadron  was  covered  in  gallant  style,  by  Capt.  Hacker, 
of  the  Providence,  and  the  sloop  Wasp.  The  attack  was  en- 
tirely successful,  and  possession  was  taken  of  the  fortifications 
and  the  town.  The  main  object  of  the  attempt,  a  magazine 
of  gunpowder,  was  in  part  secreted  by  the  governor;  but  they 
brought  away  four  hundred  and  fifty  tons  of  cannon  and 
other  military  stores,  with  the  governor  and  some  others  as 
prisoners.  Having  accomplished  this  victory,  they  sailed 
on  the  17th  of  March,  for  the  United  States.  At  one  o'clock 
in  the  morning  of  the  6th  of  April,  the  squadron  fell  in  with 
the  Glasgow,  British  man-of-war  of  twenty  guns,  off  the 
easterly  end  of  Long  Island.  The  little  Cabot  of  fourteen 
guns,  Capt.  Hopkins,  being  the  nearest  to  the  enemy,  ranged 
manfully  along  side,  discharging  her  broadsides  with  great 
spirit,  but  was  soon  obliged  to  haul  off  from  the  superior 
fire  of  the  Clasgow.  The  Alfred  now  came  up  to  the  rescue, 
but  after  a  short  running  fight,  had  her  wheel  ropes  cut 
away,  and  became  unmanageable.  The  Providence,  by  this 
time,  had  passed  under  her  stern,  and  fired  a  number  of 
broadsides  with  great  effect.  Capt.  Whipple,  in  the  Colum- 
bus, could  not  get  into  action  for  want  of  wind,  which  was 


ABRAHAM    WHIPPLE.  131 

light  and  baffling,  sufficiently  near  to  afford  much  aid,  or 
the  Glasgow  would  have  been  captured.  The  darkness  of 
night  still  continued,  when  seeing  the  approach  of  another 
antagonist,  she  spread  all  sail  in  flight,  with  the  Columbus 
in  pursuit,  but  was  soon  signaled  by  the  commodore  to  give 
up  the  chase ;  as  they  were  approaching  so  near  the  harbor 
of  Newport,  where  lay  a  large  fleet,  that  the  report  of  the 
cannonade  would  call  them  out  to  the  rescue,  and  thus  per- 
haps the  whole  American  force  might  fall  into  their  hands; 
as  they  were  so  deeply  laden  with  the  captured  military 
stores,  as  to  make  them  all  dull  sailers.  On  his  way  back, 
Capt.  Whipple  fell,  in  with,  and  made  prize  of  the  bomb 
ship  of  the  British  fleet,  which  had  long  been  a  terror  to  the 
people  of  Newport.  -The  fleet  arrived  safely  into  the  harbor 
of  New  London ;  but  were  soon  after  removed  to  Provi- 
dence by  the  commodore,  the  British  having  left  the  bay  of 
Narraganset. 

The  escape  of  the  Glasgow  from  so  superior  a  force, 
caused  no  small  sensation,  with  a  good  deal  of  censure  from 
the  public.  As  Whipple  commanded  the  second  largest 
ship,  and  was  not  actually  engaged  with  the  enemy,  he  was 
accused  of  cowardice.  This  aroused  the  spirit  of  the  vet- 
eran, and  he  demanded  a  court-martial  to  inquire  into  his 
conduct.  It  was  held  in  Providence;  and  after  a  full  exam- 
ination he  was  honorably  acquitted;  it  appearing  in  evi- 
dence, that  his  vessel,  from  the  lightness  of  the  wind  and 
her  leeward  position,  could  not  be  brought  into  contact  with 
the  Glasgow,  until  after  her  flight,  when  he  pursued  her  with 
all  the  speed  in  his  power,  until  called  off  by  Com.  Hopkins. 

After  the  close  of  the  trial,  he  was  ordered  to  take  com- 
mand of  the  Columbus  again ;  while  Com.  Hopkins,  on  the 
16th  of  October,  was  formally  censured  by  a  vote  of  Con- 
gress, and  on  the  26th  of  March,  1777,  dismissed  from  the 
service,  for  disobeying  their  orders.     Capt.  Hacker,  of  the 


132  ABRAHAM    WHIPPLE. 

Providence,  was  removed  from  her 'command,  and  the  vessel 
given  to  John  Paul  Jones,*  who,  in  the  course  of  the  summer, 
captured  no  less  than  sixteen  sail  of  the  enemy's  ships.  In 
the  fall  of  that  year,  he  was  transferred  to  the  Alfred,  and 
sailed,  in  company  with  the  Providence,  on  a  cruise  to  the 
eastward,  along  the  coast.  Here  they  fell  in  with  and  cap- 
tured a  number  of  prizes ;  amongst  them  a  transport  for  Bur- 
goyne's  army,  with  ten  thousand  suits  of  soldiers'  uniforms. 
The  Providence  was  now  commanded  by  Capt.  Rathbone : 
and  in  1778,  again  visited  New  Providence,  unaccompanied 
by  any  other  vessel,  and  took  possession  of  the  place  and 
six  ships  lying  in  the  harbor,  one  of  which  was  a  privateer 
of  sixteen  guns.  On  his  landing,  he  was  joined  by  about 
thirty  American  prisoners,  making  with  his  own  crew,  eighty 
men.  He  kept  possession  two  days,  and  brought  away 
many  valuable  stores  and  four  of  the  prizes.  In  1779,  the 
little  Providence  was  restored  to  her  former  master,  Capt. 
Hacker,  who  took  the  enemy's  ship  Delinquent,  of  equal 
force,  after  a  severe  action.  In  July,  with  other  vessels,  she 
was  ordered  to  convey  a  body  of  militia,  under  Gen.  Lowell, 
to  the  Penobscot  river,  where  the  British  had  formed  a  mili- 
tary station.  The  expedition  proved  disastrous;  and  the 
Providence,  with  the  other  ships,  was  lost,  by  the  superior 
naval  force  of  the  enemy,  the  15th  of  August.  Capt. 
Hacker,  to  keep  her  from  the  hands  of  the  enemy,  after 
landing  the  crew,  ordered  her  to  be  blown  up.  Thus  per- 
ished in  a  blaze  of  light,  the  favorite  vessel,  and  first  love 
of  Capt.  Whipple.  She  had  been  one  of  the  most  success- 
ful cruisers  that  floated  on  the  ocean,  and  made  more  prizes 
than  any  other  vessel  in  the  service;  hurling  defiance  at 
Great  Britain,  in  many  a  well  fought  action,  from  June, 
1775.  to  August,  1779.     Her  name  was  perpetuated  in  the 

*  The  history  of  the  last  years  of  the  Providcucc  sloop,  is  taken  from  Cooper'* 
Naval  History. 


ABRAHAM    WHIPPLE.  133 

navy,  by  the  frigate  Providence.  In  October,  1776,  Capt. 
Whipple  was  recommended  by  the  marine  committee,  to  the 
command  of  the  frigate  Providence,  of  twenty-eight  guns, 
then  building  in  Rhode  Island,  which  was  confirmed  by 
Congress. 

In  November  of  the  same  year,  Congress  "  Resolved  that 
a  bounty  of  twenty  dollars  be  paid  to  the  commanders,  of- 
ficers and  men  of  such  continental  ships,  or  vessels  of  war, 
as  shall  make  prize  of  any  British  ship,  or  vessel  of  war ; 
for  every  cannon  mounted  on  board  each  prize  at  the  time 
of  capture ;  and  eight  dollars  per  head  for  every  man  then 
on  board,  and  belonging  to  such  prize."  This  was  a  wise 
and  salutary  provision,  for  the  encouragement  of  our  sailors ; 
but  as  it  relates  to  Capt.  Whipple,  he  says  he  never  received 
any  compensation  for  guns  and  munitions  of  war  captured 
by  himself. 

At  the  same  time  they  passed  the  following  order,  regu- 
lating the  comparative  rank  of  officers  in  the  navy  with  the 
land  service;  viz.  "An  admiral  as  a  general;  vice-admi- 
ral, as  a  lieutenant-general;  rear-admiral,  as  a  major 
general;  commodore,  as  a  brigadier-general;  the  captain 
of  a  ship  of  forty  guns  and  upward,  as  a  colonel;  from  ten 
to  twenty  guns,  as  a  major;  a  lieutenant  in  the  navy,  as  a 
captain."  This  arrangement  was  not  only  for  etiquette  in 
their  intercourse,  but  was  also  intended  to  apply  in  ex- 
changes of  prisoners.  The  pay  of  the  officers  and  men  in 
the  American  navy,  "  under  the  free  and  independent  states 
of  America,"  was  established  as  follows .  "  The  captain  of  a 
ship  of  twenty  guns  and  upward,  received  sixty  dollars  a 
month  ;  that  of  a  ship  often  to  twenty  guns,  forty-eight  dol- 
lars a  month;  a  lieutenant  of  the  larger  vessel,  thirty  dol- 
lars a  month —  the  smaller,  twenty-four  dollars;  a  surgeon 
twenty-five  dollars,  and  the  surgeon's  mate,  fifteen  dollars, 
and  so  on  in  the  descending  scale  to  the  common  seamen 


131  ABRAHAM     WHIPPLE. 

whose  pay  was  eight  dollars  a  month."  When  we  look 
back  on  those  times  of  trial  and  adversity,  we  admire  the 
prudence  and  economy,  which  pervaded  every  branch  of 
the  government :  when  we  consider  the  poor  apology  for 
money  in  which  they  were  paid,  the  officers  might  be  said 
"to  serve  for  nothing  and  find  themselves."  But  if  we  re- 
flect on  the  deep  poverty  of  the  country,  and  that  all  the 
expenses  were  paid  by  a  direct  tax  on  the  people,  we  arrive 
at  the  secret  of  this  seeming  parsimony.  It  was  the  prudent 
expenditure  of  the  public  money  which  enabled  Congress  to 
carry  on  the  war  at  all;  and  as  it  was,  they  were  often 
bankrupt  and  on  the  verge  of  ruin.  In  these  days  when  the 
public  expenses  are  raised  by  a  tariff  on  commerce,  and 
money  is  plenty,  the  pay  of  naval  officers  is  very  different ; 
some  of  the  older  captains  get  three  hundred  and  seventy- 
five  dollars  a  month,  and  the  younger  captains  of  frigates, 
three  hundred  dollars — being  just  five  times  as  much  as 
they  received  in  the  Revolutionary  war. 

On  the  10th  of  August,  177G,  he  received  orders  from  the 
navy  board  to  sail  on  a  cruise  to  the  eastward  with  the  Co- 
lumbus frigate,  for  the  purpose  of  intercepting  the  home- 
ward-bound Jamaica  fleet.  In  his  passage  out  of  the  bay 
from  Newport,  he  had  to  "run  the  gauntlet"  through  a  num- 
ber of  British  ships  of  war,  which  he  fortunately  escaped. 
Off  the  coast  of  Newfoundland  he  fell  in  with  the  object  of 
his  search,  and  took  five  large  ships  laden  with  sugar.  Two 
of  his  prizes  reached  ports,  while  the  other  three  were  re- 
taken, as  was  the  fate  of  more  than  half  of  all  the  Ameri- 
can prizes,  which  they  attempted  to  run  into  their  own  ports, 
the  coast  being  closely  guarded  by  the  enemy's  ships. 

In  October,  Capt.  Whipple  returned,  with  the  Columbus, 
to  Providence,  at  which  place  Congress  had  directed  two 
frigates  to  be  built;  the  Warren,  of  thirty-two  guns,  and  the 
Providence,   of  twenty-eight   guns.     On   the   10th   of  that 


ABRAHAM    WHIPPLE.  135 

month,  he  was  recommended  by  the  marine  committee,  and 
appointed,  by  Congress,  to  the  command  of  the  Providence, 
and  directed  to  superintend  the  fitting  out  of  both  frigates. 
While  occupied  in  this  employment,  with  his  own  ship 
nearly  ready  for  sea,  so  rapidly  had  the  work  been  prose- 
cuted, on  the  7th  of  December,  the  enemy's  fleet  took  pos- 
session of  the  harbor  of  Newport,  where  the  Providence  had 
been  lying,  and  landed  a  large  army.  To  preserve  his  ship 
from  capture,  Capt.  Whipple  run  her  up  the  river  to  Provi- 
dence harbor,  where  several  other  vessels  had  retreated,  pro- 
tected by  the  batteries  and  the  army  of  Gen.  Spencer,  then 
assembled  on  the  adjacent  main,  to  guard  the  country  from 
the  inroads  of  the  British  troops.  In  this  mortifying  durance 
the  new  frigates  were  confined  during  the  whole  of  the  year 
1777.  During  this  period,  several  plans  were  arranged  for 
getting  to  sea,  as  appears  by  the  letters  of  the  eastern  navy 
board,  composed  of  James  Warren  and  John  Deshon,  of 
September  11th  and  October  28th.  In  March  preceding, 
there  was  a  plan  for  burning  some  of  the  British  vessels  by 
means  of  fire-ships,  in  which  Capt.  Whipple  was  engaged; 
as  by  letter  of  Esek  Hopkins,  who  was  in  command  at  Prov- 
idence, as  late  as  the  9th  of  that  month.  From  some  cause, 
it  was  not  successful,  although  Congress  offered  large  boun- 
ties to  effect  it.  In  October,  under  the  order  of  Gov.  Cook, 
he  dismantled  and  saved  the  guns  and  stores  of  the  ene- 
my's frigate  Syren,  which  run  on  shore  at  Point  Judith,  11. 1., 
and  had  been  abandoned.  While  at  this  employment,  he 
fell  over  the  side  of  the  frigate,  amongst  the  guns  and  other 
matters,  receiving  a  serious  injury,  which  caused  a  lame- 
ness all  his  life.  On  the  20th  of  March,  1778,  orders  ar- 
rived, to  fit  the  Providence  for  sea  with  all  dispatch,  being 
assigned  to  carry  important  dispatches  from  Congress  to 
our  ministers  in  France.  Capt.  Whipple  made  up  his  crew 
from  the  men  of  the  Warren,  in  addition  to  his  own  ship, 


13G  ABRAHAM    WHIPPLE. 

selecting  such  as  were  known  to  be  of  tried  courage,  as  the 
passage  out  to  sea  was  blockaded  by  a  numerous  fleet, 
as  well  as  the  outlets  of  each  of  the  three  passages  from 
Providence  river,  as  the  long,  deep,  narrow  inlet  was  called, 
which  connects  Narraganset  bay  with  the  harbor  of  the 
town.  They  were  guarded  by  frigates  and  a  sixty-fcur  gun 
ship,  expressly  stationed  to  watch  these  channels,  for  the 
American  ships.  All  movements  of  any  importance,  about 
to  be  made  by  either  of  the  belligerent  parties,  were  certain 
to  be  known  to  the  other  within  a  short  time  after  their  con- 
coction, by  means  of  spies,  and  secret  intercourse  constantly 
kept  up  by  men  employed  for  this  purpose.  The  order  for 
the  sailing  of  the  Providence  was  soon  known  to  the  British 
naval  commander  at  Newport,  and  every  preparation  made 
for  her  capture.  Capt.  Whipple  was  perfectly  familiar  with 
all  the  channels,  head  lands,  shoals,  and  windings  of  the 
outlets  from  his  earliest  youth ;  so  that  no  man  could  be 
better  fitted  to  conduct  this  hazardous  enterprize.  His  well 
known  character  for  courage  and  love  of  daring  exploits, 
gave  additional  hope  to  his  prospect  of  success.  It  could 
only  be  attempted  in  the  night,  and  that  night  must  be  a 
dark  and  stormy  one,  adding  still  moie  to  the  grandeur  of 
the  exploit.  After  every  preparation  was  made  for  sea,  he 
had  to  wait  until  the  30th  of  April,  for  one  of  those  gloomy, 
windy  nights,  attended  with  sleet  and  rain,  so  common  on 
the  New  England  coast,  at  this  season  of  the  year.  At 
length,  on  the  last  day  of  the  month,  such  a  night  set  in, 
with  rain  and  wind  from  the  northeast,  cheerless  and  dispir- 
iting on  all  ordinary  occasions,  but  now  more  prized  than  the 
brightest  starlight,  and  entirely  favorable  to  his  wishes.  In 
making  his  choice  of  the  three  outlets,  he  selected  the  west- 
erly one,  which  passes  down  between  the  island  of  Conanicut 
and  the  Narraganset  shore,  which  was  guarded  by  the  frigate 
Lark,  rated  as  a  thirty-six,  but  actually  mounting  forty  guns. 


ABRAHAM    WHIPPLE.  137 

This  vessel  was  moored  in  the  channel  against  the  island, 
with  her  stern  up  stream,  and  springs  on  her  cables,  ready  to 
get  under  way  at  a  moment's  notice.  Some  distance  below 
her,  and  nearer  the  outlet,  was  moored  in  the  same  manner, 
the  Renown,  a  ship  of  sixty-four  guns;  while,  in  the  bay 
beyond,  lay  ten  or  twelve  ships  and  sloops  of  war,  ready  to 
fire  upon  the  Providence,  should  she  by  possibility  escape 
the  two  ships  above.  The  middle  passage  led  through  the 
harbor  of  Newport,  occupied  by  the  ships  of  the  line,  and 
the  easterly  one  was  crooked,  and  not  passable  in  the  night. 
William  Jones,  subsequently  the  governor  of  Rhode  Island, 
was  captain  of  marines  under  Whipple.  He  was  a  very 
gentlemanly,  noble-looking,  and  brave  man.  To  him  was 
consigned  the  charge  of  the  dispatches.  As  the  gallant 
little  frigate,  under  close  reefed  topsails,  so  stiff  was  the 
breeze,  approached  the  Lark,  every  light  on  deck  was  ex- 
tinguished, and  the  utmost  silence  maintained  by  the  crew, 
who  were  stationed  at  their  guns  with  lighted  matches,  while 
the  lanterns  in  the  rigging  of  the  enemy  served  to  show  ex- 
actly her  position.  Instead  of  sailing  wide  of  his  enemy, 
and  avoiding  a  conflict,  he  run  within  half  pistol  shot,  and 
delivered  his  broadside,  firing  his  bow  guns  when  against 
the  stern  of  the  ship,  determined  that  she  should  feel  her 
enemy,  if  she  could  not  see  her.  At  the  same  moment 
Capt.  Jones,  with  his  musketry,  poured  in  a  destructive 
fire  on  her  quarter  and  main  deck,  killing  and  wounding  a 
number  of  the  crew.  So  sudden  and  unexpected  was  the 
attack,  that  before  the  Lark  could  make  any  return  of  the 
broadside,  the  Providence  was  out  of  sight,  having  by  this 
well  directed  fire  dismounted  several  of  her  guns,  and  killed 
some  of  the  men.  The  report  of  Whipple's  cannon  awa- 
kened the  sleeping  crew  of  the  sixty-four,  who,  hurrying  to 
their  quarters,  filled  the  rigging  with  lights,  'ready  for  the 
coming  conflict.     As  the  gallant  ship  came  rushing  on  the 


138  ABRAHAM    WHIPPLE. 

wings  of  the  wind,  enveloped  in  the  mist  and  darkness  of 
the  Btorm,  Whipple,  as  he  neared  the  Renown,  to  put  his 
enemy  well  on  their  guard,  bellowed  forth  with  his  speaking 
trumpet  in  a  voice  louder  than  the  winds,  as  if  addressing 
the  man  at  the  helm,  "Pass  her  on  the  Narraganset  side:" 
at  the  same  time,  as  he  stood  close  to  the  steersman,  he  bid 
him  lufF  ship  and  pass  her  on  the  larboard  or  Conanicut 
side  of  the  vessel ;  thus  throwing  his  antagonist  entirely  off 
his  guard,  on  the  point  he  really  meant  to  steer.  The  order 
was  promptly  obeyed,  and  while  the  crew  were  mustered  on 
the  Narraganset  side  of  the  sixty-four,  ready  for  a  discharge 
of  their  heavy  guns,  his  starboard  broadside  was  fired  into 
her  as  he  rapidly  passed,  with  great  effect ;  several  shot 
passing  through  the  cabin,  and  one  directly  under  the  cap- 
tain's head,  as  he  lay  in  his  berth,  knocking  his  pillow  out  of 
place.  Another  shot  unshipped  the  rudder,  and  before  the 
Renown  was  ready  to  discharge  her  larboard  guns,  the  Prov- 
idence was  out  of  reach  and  out  of  sight.  This  very  vessel 
was  the  leading,  or  admiral's  ship,  at  the  capture  of  Charles- 
ton, and  the  officers  related  the  effects  of  his  lire  in  a  fa- 
miliar conversation  with  Capt.  Whipple,  after  the  surrender 
of  the  place,  and  he  was  their  prisoner.  These  two  broad- 
sides aroused  the  crews  of  the  fleet  in  the  bay  below,  and 
put  them  on  the  look  out  for  the  rebel  frigate,  and  the  Prov- 
idence received  more  or  less  of  the  fire  from  eleven  different 
ships  of  war,  before  she  reached  the  open  sea.  Like  the 
king-bird  surrounded  by  a  flock  of  vultures,  she  glided 
swiftly  among  her  enemies,  veering  now  to  the  larboard, 
and  now  to  the  starboard,  as  fresh  ships  opposed  her  waj*; 
returning  their  lire  with  occasional  shots,  but  anxious  mainly 
to  escape  too  close  a  contact  with  any  of  her  foes  ;  the  ob- 
ject being  to  run,  and  not  to  fight. 

The  da)-  following  this  perilous  night,  when  he  had  gained 
the    open  ocean,  and  thought  all   present  danger  past,  he 


ABRAHAM    WHIPPLE.  139 

narrowly  escaped  capture  by  a  seventy-four  gun  ship,  which 
came  directly  across  his  course,  but  by  superior  management 
in  sailing,  luckily  escaped.  The  damages  to  the  rigging  of 
the  Providence,  although  considerable,  were  soon  repaired, 
and  the  little  frigate,  with  a  flowing  sheet,  sped  on  her  way 
to  the  port  of  Nantz,  where  she  arrived  in  twenty-six  days, 
being  on  the  26th  of  May,  1778. 

On  the  voyage  out,  Capt.  Whipple  captured  a  British 
brig,  laden  with  one  hundred  and  twenty-five  pipes  of  wine, 
nine  tons  of  cork  and  various  other  articles,  which  arrived 
safe  in  port,  near  the  same  time. 

The  names  of  the  officers  who  so  nobly  aided  in  sailing, 
and  fighting  the  Providence,  through  that  host  of  enemies, 
and  may  well  be  ranked  among  the  most  remarkable  feats 
of  bravery  and  daring,  as  well  as  nautical  skill  that  took 
place  during  the  war  of  the  Revolution,  were  as  follows : 
Thomas  Simpson,  first  lieutenant,  and  soon  after  promoted 
to  the  command  of  the  Boston  frigate  of  twenty-four  guns. 
Silas  Devol,  second  lieutenant.  He  was  the  brother  of  Capt. 
Jonathan  Devol,  and  the  personification  of  bravery.  In  a 
year  or  two  after,  he  was  taken  at  sea,  and  perished  miser- 
ably in  the  old  Jersey  prison  ship,  that  den  of  wholesale 
murder  to  the  Americans.  Jonathan  Pitcher,  third  lieuten- 
ant, George  Goodwin,  sailing  master,  William  Jones,  cap- 
tain of  marines,  and  Seth  Chapin,  first  lieutenant. 

On  the  third  day  of  their  voyage  out,  the  lieutenants 
and  other  officers  presented  a  petition  to  Capt.  Whipple, 
asking  him  to  allow  them  to  draw  money  for  the  purpose 
of  purchasing  proper  uniform  dresses,  as  without  them  they 
could  not  maintain  the  dignity  of  their  stations,  and  as  they 
say,  "  That  all  may  appear  alike,  as  brothers  united  in  one 
cause."  From  this  circumstance  it  would  seem,  that  no 
regular  uniform  for  the  navy  had  yet  been  established  by 
Congress. 


140  ABRAHAM    WHIPPLE. 

The  appearance  of  the  Providence  in  the  harbor  of 
Nantz,  excited  a  great  deal  of  curiosity,  as  few  if  any 
American  frigates  had  visited  that  port.  On  landing,  Capt. 
Jones  was  charged  with  the  dispatches  to  the  American 
ministers  at  the  court  of  Versailles,  and  proceeded  on  his 
way  to  Paris.  Dr.  Franklin  introduced  him  to  the  king  and 
the  principal  courtiers,  who  received  him  with  great  polite- 
ness. His  noble  personal  appearance,  gentlemanly  man- 
ner^, and  rich,  showy  uniform,  made  him  appear  to  great 
advantage  and  highly  creditable  to  the  American  nation. 
Owing  to  unforeseen  delays  and  the  cautious  policy  of  the 
French  court,  it  was  as  late  as  August  before  a  cargo  was 
provided  and  the  return  dispatches  of  the  American  minis- 
ters ready  for  Congress.  Strange  as  it  may  appear,  the 
Providence  frigate,  was  loaded  with  clothing,  arms  and 
ammunition,  like  a  merchantman.  Capt.  Whipple,  although 
as  brave  as  Caesar,  was  not  too  proud  to  engage  in  any  honest 
service,  which  would  be  useful  to  Ins  country.  He  had 
spent  years  in  the  merchant  line  and  felt  not  that  repug- 
nance to  turning  his  ship  into  a  transport,  so  often  expressed 
by  the  haughty  Britons.  The  cargo  was  of  immense  value 
and  more  safe  in  a  frigate  than  a  common  ship.  On  the 
13th  of  July,  he  received  notice  from  the  American  commis- 
sioners, B.  Franklin,  Arthur  Lee,  and  John  Adams,  that  they 
had  ordered  Capt.  Tucker,  of  the  Boston  frigate,  to  join  him 
on  his  return  voyage.  On  the  lGth,  he  received  the  follow- 
ing letter  and  order. 

"Passy,  July  16th,  1778. 
Caft.  Whipfle: 

Sir  :  We  have  ordered  Lieut.  Simpson,  to  whom  the  com- 
mand of  the  Ranger  devolves,  by  the  destination  of  Capt. 
Jones,  (John  Paul,)  to  another  service,  to  join  you  and  obey 
your  orders  respecting  his  future  cruises  and  voyage  to 
America.     We  wish  you  to  use  all   possible   dispatch   in 


ABRAHAM    WHIPPLE.  141 

getting  to  sea,  with  the  Boston,  Providence,  and  Ranger. 

You  are  to  use  your  utmost  endeavors  to  take,  burn,  sink, 
and  destroy  all  privateers  of  Jersey  and  Guernsey,  and  all 
other  British  cruisers  within  the  command  of  your  force,  as 
you  may  have  opportunity. 

We  are,  sir,  your  most  humble  servants, 

B.  Franklin, 
Arthur  Lee, 
John  Adams. 

P.  S.  You  are  to  leave  all  the  prisoners  in  such  place 
and  in  the  custody  of  such  persons  as  Mr.  Shwinghauser 
shall  advise." 

Mr.  Shwinghauser  was  the  naval  agent  for  the  United 
States,  making  purchases,  &c;  a  number  of  his  letters  are 
on  file  among  Com.  Whipple's  manuscripts.  From  the  time 
of  the  date  of  this  letter,  giving  him  the  command  of  three 
public  armed  ships,  he  may  fairly  take  the  rank  of  commo- 
dore; although  he  was,  in  fact,  entitled  to  that  distinction 
while  cruising  in  the  Narraganset  bay,  in  June,  1775,  with 
the  two  armed  sloops  under  his  orders.  On  the  26th  of  Au- 
gust, having  loaded  the  Providence  with  arms,  ammunition, 
clothing,  and  copper,  on  account  of  the  United  States,  and 
taken  on  board  a  number  of  passengers,  ordered  by  the 
commissioners,  he  sailed  for  America,  touching  at  the  har- 
bor of  Brest,  where  he  was  joined  by  the  Boston  and  Ranger. 
On  their  voyage  out  they  took  six  prizes,  but  how  many  got 
into  port,  is  not  ascertained. 

While  on  the  banks  of  Newfoundland,  in  a  dense  fog,  so 
common  to  that  misty  part  of  the  ocean,  he  had  a  very  nar- 
row escape  from  capture.  The  Providence  being  the  lead- 
ing ship,  for  the  purpose  of  notifying  her  consorts  of  her 
position,  every  five  or  ten  minutes,  a  few  blows  were  struck 
on  the  ship's  bell.  A  British  seventy-four  gun  ship,  hearing 
the  signal,  bore  up  in  the  direction  of  the  sound,  and  before 


142  ABRAHAM    WHIPPLE. 

the  crew  of  the  Providence  had  any  notice  of  her  approach, 
she  was  close  along  side.  The  first  appearance  of  the  frig- 
ate, with  hor  ports  all  closed,  and  lying  deep  in  the  water, 
was  that  of  a  large  merchant  ship.  On  hailing  the  stranger, 
the  captain,  in  the  usual  style  of  British  naval  officers,  or- 
dered the  "  d d  rebel  to  strike  his  colors,  drop  under  his 

stern,  and  send  the  boat  aboard."  It  so  happened,  that  his 
colors  were  not  up  at  the  time.  Cant.  Whipple  at  once  saw 
his  danger,  and  knew  that  nothing  but  a  bold  maneuver 
could  save  him.  He,  therefore,  answered  the  hail,  as  if  in- 
tending no  opposition,  "  Aye,  aye,  sir."  With  a  readiness 
of  thought  which  none  but  a  master  mind  can  call  to  his 
aid,  in  emergencies  which  admit  of  no  delay,  his  plan  was 
instantly  formed,  and  sending  some  men  aloft,  to  busy 
themselves  with  the  sails,  and  prepare  for  striking  the  col- 
ors, as  if  about  to  comply  with  the  order,  he,  at  the  same 
time,  passed  the  word  below  to  make  all  ready  for  a  broad- 
side, as  he  passed  under  the  stern  of  the  seventy-four.  As 
he  was  rather  slow  in  complying  with  the  order  to  strike,  it 
was  repeated  by  the  Briton  in  a  still  more  commanding 
tone,  threatening  to  fire  into  him.  Whipple  answered, 
rather  peevishly,  that  "  he  could  not  haul  down  his  colors, 
until  he  had  run  them  up,"  at  the  same  time  swearing  at 
the  sailor  for  his  bungling  manner  of  performing  the  duty, 
having  ordered  him,  when  they  were  up,  not  to  haul  them 
down  again,  on  pain  of  death.  By  the  time  the  stars  and 
stripes  were  fluttering  in  the  breeze,  the  gunners  were  at 
their  posts,  the  frigate  had  fallen  off  under  the  stern  of  the 
enemy,  when,  with  a  stamp  of  his  foot  on  the  quarter  deck, 
the  ports  flew  open,  and  a  fall  broadside  was  fired  into  her 
cabin,  the  tompions  of  the  guns  going  in  with  the  shot,  there 
being  no  time  to  remove  them.  When  relating  the  incident 
in  after  life,  the  commodore  used  to  say,  he  "heard  a  terri- 
ble smashing  among  the  crockery  ware  in  the  cabin."     The 


ABRAHAM    WHIPPLE.  143 

Briton  suspecting  no  resistance,  and  being  entirely  unpre- 
pared for  such  an  event,  was  utterly  astonished,  provoked, 
and  confounded ;  but  before  he  could  make  any  preparation 
to  avenge  this  "  Yankee  trick,"  the  Providence  was  envel- 
oped in  the  fog,  and  out  of  sight  on  another  tack.  Whipple 
took  good  care  not  to  tinkle  his  bell  again,  for  some  time, 
while  his  consorts  being  warned  of  their  danger,  by  his 
broadside,  escaped  discovery,  and  all  reached  the  harbor  of 
Boston  in  safety.  This,  however,  was  accomplished  in  al- 
most a  miraculous  manner,  having  to  pass  through  a  squad- 
ron of  the  enemy's  ships,  which  were  blockading  that  port. 
The  cargo  thus  saved  by  the  presence  of  mind,  and  bold 
stratagem  of  Com.  Whipple,  was  of  immense  advantage  to 
the  country;  furnishing  the  army  with  several  thousand 
stands  of  arms,  ammunition,  and  clothing ;  articles  of  more 
value  to  the  United  States,  at  that  time,  than  a  ship-load  of 
gold. 

Soon  after  his  arrival,  which  was  the  13th  of  October, 
Capt.  Jones  went  on  to  Congress  with  the  dispatches,  which 
were  highly  gratifying  to  that  body.  In  November  he  re- 
ceived the  following  congratulatory  letter  from  his  excel- 
lency, Gen.  Washington  : 

"Head  Quarters,  Fredericksburg,  Nov.  25th,  1778. 

Sra :  Maj.  Nicholas  handed  me  your  favor  of  the  12th 
inst.  I  am  greatly  pleased  with  the  gallant  circumstance 
of  your  passage  through  the  blockaded  harbor,  and  much 
obliged  to  you  for  the  detail  of  your  voyage.  It  was  agree- 
able to  hear  of  your  safe  arrival  with  the  valuable  articles 
of  your  invoice.  With  my  best  wishes  for  your  future  suc- 
cess, I  am,  sir,  your  most  humble  servant, 

Geo.  WASurNGTox. 

To  Capt.  Abraham  Whipple,  Esq.,  commander  of  the 
continental  frigate  Providence,  at  Boston." 


144  ABRAHAM     WHIPPLE. 

During  this  year  the  influence  of  the  American  commis- 
sioners at  the  court  of  France  was  so  great,  especially  with 
the  queen,  who  had  taken  so  deep  an  interest  in  the  welfare 
of  the  young  republic,  and  especially  in  Dr.  Franklin,  whom, 
on  all  occasions,  she  treated  with  as  much  respect  as  she 
could  her  own  father,  that  the  king  finally  came  out  openly 
on  the  side  of  the  United  States,  sending  a  fleet  of  men  of 
war  to  the  American  coast,  which  entered  the  harbor  of 
Newport,  and  forced  the  enemy  from  Narraganset  bay. 
Before  their  departure  they  sunk  several  of  their  ships,  to 
keep  them  from  the  hands  of  the  French.  Among  them 
was  Whipple's  old  antagonist,  the  Lark.  Near  the  close  of 
the  war  some  of  these  frigates  were  raised  by  the  ingenuity 
of  Griffin  Greene,  Esq. 

The  winter  following  this  never-to-be-forgotten  cruise, 
was  passed  in  refitting  his  vessel  for  sea,  and  in  visiting  his 
family.  On  the  9th  of  March,  1779,  he  received  orders  from 
James  Warren  and  William  Vernon,  the  navy  board  in  the 
eastern  department,  to  cruise  with  the  Providence  in  Boston 
bay,  for  the  protection  of  the  navigation,  and  in  quest  of 
the  enemy's  cruisers,  which  were  now  numerous  on  the 
coast.  On  the  4th  of  April  he  returned  to  port,  and  re- 
mained until  the  23d  of  June,  when  he  again  proceeded  on 
a  cruise  with  the  Ranger  and  Queen  of  France  under  his 
command.  On  this  occasion  the  following  letter  was  ad- 
dressed to  him,  giving  the  outlines  of  the  cruise,  and  the 
general  orders  to  be  observed  while  at  sea : 

"Navy  Board,  Eastern  Department, 

Boston,  June  12th,  1779. 

To  Abraham  WmrrLE,  Esq.,  commander  of  the  ship 
Providence : 

Your  ship  being  ready  for  the  sea,  you  are  to  proceed 
with  the  ships  Queen  of  France  and  Ranger,  if  the  last  be 


ABRAHAM    WHIPPLE.  145 

ready,  on  a  cruise  against  the  enemy.  You  being  the  su- 
perior officer,  will,  of  course,  command  the  whole :  and  ours 
will  be,  that  they  obey  yours  accordingly.  You  are  to  pro- 
ceed with  these  ships  immediately,  to  the  southerly  parts  of 
the  banks  of  Newfoundland,  and  there  to  cruise  ;  and  to  the 
southward  of  said  bank's,  as  the  most  likely  cruising  ground 
to  effect  the  double  purpose  of  intercepting  the  enemy's 
outward-bound  transports  for  New  York,  &c,  and  the  home- 
ward-bound West  India  ships.  You  will  keep  that  ground 
steadily,  so  long  as  is  consistent  with  your  security  :  taking 
care  to  alter  your  station,  when  you  have  reason  to  suppose, 
from  your  long  continuance  on  that  ground,  or  other  circum- 
stances, that  the  enemy  may  have  gained  intelligence  of 
you ;  in  which  case  you  will  proceed  to  such  places  as  you 
and  the  commanders  of  the  other  ships  shall  judge  most 
likely  to  answer  the  purposes  of  the  cruise:  taking  care, 
also,  at  proper  times,  to  be  on  the  banks,  so  that  any 
ships  we  may  hereafter  send  to  join  you,  may  be  able  to 
find  you.  During  your  cruise  you  are  to  take,  burn,  sink, 
or  destroy  as  many  of  the  enemy's  ships  as  may  fall 
in  your  way,  directing  to  the  continental  agent  of  any 
port,  such  prizes  as  you  may  think  proper  to  send  in. 
You  are  to  take  proper  care  of  your  ship  and  her  stores, 
and  to  cause  proper  returns  of  the  expenditures  of  all  pro- 
visions and  stores,  to  be  made  on  your  return.  You  will 
observe  the  greatest  frugality  and  strict  discipline  on  board, 
taking  care  at  the  same  time  to  use  your  officers  and  men 
well,  and  your  prisoners  with  humanity.  You  are  to  con- 
tinue your  cruise  as  long  as  your  provisions  and  other  cir- 
cumstances will  admit,  and  then  return  into  this,  or  some 
other  convenient  port  of  the  United  States,  leaving  you 
at  liberty,  nevertheless,  if  on  consulting  the  other  com- 
manders, it  shall  be  judged   practicable   to   intercept   the 

homeward-bound  ships  from  Hudson's  bay,  to  proceed  for 
10 


14G  ABRAHAM    WHIPPLE. 

that  purpose  toward  the  end  of  your  cruise ;  and  if  you 
meet  with  little  success  and  your  ships  should  remain  well 
manned,  you  may,  when  your  provisions  are  near  expended, 
proceed  and  cruise  in  the  West  Indies  during  the  winter: 
Mr.  Stephen  Ceronia  at  Cape  Francois,  or  Mr.  William 
Bingham  at  Martinico,  continental  agent,  will  supply  you 
with  the  necessaries.  On  your  way  out  you  are  to  see  this 
coast  clear  of  the  enemy's  cruisers,  and  particularly  range 
down  the  eastern  shore,  and  if  the  Ranger  do  not  sail  with 

you,  rendezvous  at for  a  few  days,  where  she  will 

join  you.  You  are  to  return  lists  of  your  men  and  stores 
on  board,  and  at  the  end  of  the  cruise  cause  proper  returns 
to  be  made  of  the  expenditure.  We  wish  you  a  successful 
cruise. 

And  are  your  servants,  &c, 

J.  Warren, 
Wm.  Vernon." 
In  pursuance  of  the  above  orders  he  proceeded  on  to  the 
eastern  coast,  to  look  for  the  enemy's  cruisers,  and  spend- 
ing nearly  four  weeks  in  cruising  on  and  off  the  coast  of 
Newfoundland,  lie,  on  the  24th  of  July,  fell  in  with  the 
homeward-bound  Jamaica  fleet,  of  nearly  one  hundred  and 
fifty  sail,  convoyod  by  a  seventy-four  gun  ship  and  some 
smaller  vessels.  He  continued  with  them  for  two  days, 
under  British  colors,  pretending  to  be  ships  from  Halifax, 
joining  the  convoy.  From  the  first  prize  captured  by  board- 
ing in  the  night,  he  got  possession  of  the  signals  of  the 
commodore,  and  made  use  of  them  to  keep  up  the  decep- 
tion. Some  of  the  prizes  were  taken  possession  of  by 
inviting  the  captain  of  the  Jamaica  ship  on  board  the  Hali- 
fax vessels,  and  while  he  was  below,  sending  his  boat  with 
their  own  well  manned  to  secure  the  balance  of  the  crew, 
and  man  the  ship  with  his  own  men,  which  was  accom- 
plished without  making  so  much  noise  as  to  attract  the 


ABRAHAM    WHIPPLE.  147 

notice  of  the  convoy.  During  the  night  each  captured  ship 
slackened  sail  and  altered  her  course  so  much  as  to  be  out  of 
sight  of  the  fleet  in  the  morning.  At  night  the  seventy- 
four  carried  a  light  at  her  mizzen-top,  as  a  guide  to  the  course 
to  be  pursued  by  the  fleet.  Whipple,  taking  advantage  of 
this,  hoisted  one  at  his  own  mizzen,  and  thus  decoyed  seve- 
ral ships  so  far  out  of  their  course  as  to  be  beyond  the  reach 
of  aid  in  the  morning,  and  then  took  possession  of  them. 
This  could  easily  be  done  amongst  one  hundred  and  fifty 
sail,  without  their  number  being  missed  from  the  fleet.  By 
these  devices  he  managed  to  gain  possession  of  ten  large 
Jamaica  ships,  which  were  as  many  as  he  could  man  with 
American  crews.  Had  he  attempted  their  capture  in  an 
open  manner,  by  daylight,  he  might  have  lost  some  of  his 
own  squadron,  and  taken  less  prizes,  as  he  was  unable  to 
contend  with  the  seventy-four  gun  ship  with  all  his  force. 
The  merchant  ships  also  carried  a  number  of  guns,  and 
could  have  afforded  considerable  aid  in  beating  him  off.  His 
object  ever  was,  like  a  sensible  man,  to  annoy  the  enemy  as 
much  as  he  could,  with  the  least  possible  loss  to  himself,  and 
gain  by  ingenuity  what  he  could  not  do  by  open  force. 
Eight  of  his  prizes  were  brought  safely  into  Boston  harbor, 
while  two  were  recaptured.  They  had  on  board  six  thou- 
sand hogsheads  of  sugar,  besides  ginger,  pimento,  and  cotton, 
being  valued  at  more  than  a  million  of  dollars.  The  eight 
prizes  were  armed  with  an  average  of  fourteen  guns  each, 
or  one  hundred  and  thirteen  in  the  whole.  Could  these 
prizes  have  been  sold  at  their  real  value,  Com.  Whipple's 
share  would  have  been  one-twentieth  of  this  sum;  the 
rules  adopted  by  Congress  in  the  distribution  of  prize  money, 
allowing  this  portion  to  the  commander  of  a  squadron,  and 
two-twentieths  to  the  captains  of  single  ships,  of  those  cap- 
tured by  them  when  on  a  cruise.  Yet,  from  the  impoverished 
condition  of  the  country,  and  the   scarcity  of  money,  it  is 


148  ABRAHAM    WHIPPLE. 

not  probable  he  actually  realized  more  than  a  moiety  of  the 
amount.  He,  however,  received  sufficient  to  greatly  improve 
his  present  condition,  which  was  actually  that  of  a  poor 
man.  With  the  avails  of  this  cruise  he  bought  a  handsome 
house  and  lot  in  Providence,  and  a  fine  farm  in  the  neigh- 
boring town  of  Cranston. 

On  the  20th  of  November,  he  received  the  following  order 
from  the  navy  board  : 

"  Navy  Board,  Eastern  Department, 

Boston,  November  20,  1779. 
To    Abraham   Whipple,    Esq.,   commander    of   the    ship 
Providence : 

Your  ship  being  now  ready  for  the  sea,  you  are,  as  com- 
manding officer,  to  take  under  your  command  the  ships  Bos- 
ton, Queen  of  France,  and  Ranger;  and  with  them  you  are 
to  embrace  the  first  fair  wind,  and  without  any  kind  of  de- 
lay, proceed  to  sea ;  and  when  the  fleet  under  your  com- 
mand are  five  leagues  to  the  southward  of  the  light-house, 
you  are  to  open  the  orders  inclosed,  and  follow  the  direc- 
tions therein  given.  If  by  any  misfortune  to  you,  the  com- 
mand of  the  Providence  should  devolve  on  Capt.  Hacker, 
now  acting  as  first  lieutenant,  he  will,  as  the  eldest  captain, 
take  command  of  the  fleet,  and  is  to  obey  the  orders  given 
you.     We  wish  you  success,  and  are  your  servants,  &c, 

Wm.  Vernon, 
J.  Warren." 

What  those  sealed  orders  were,  does  not  appear  on  rec- 
ord ;  but  doubtless  were  for  him  to  proceed  with  all  expedi- 
tion, to  Charleston,  S.  C,  and  place  himself  and  fleet  under 
the  command  of  Gen.  Lincoln,  who  was  charged  with  the 
defense  of  that  place.  On  the  23d  of  that  month,  he  sailed, 
with  the  ships  under  his  command,  and  when  united  with 
those  at  Charleston,  formed  the  largest  American  squadron, 
under  the  command  of  one  officer,  ever  assembled  during 


ABRAHAM    WHIPPLE.  149 

the  war.  The  voyage  out  was  rough  and  tempestuous,  and 
his  ships  received  considerable  damage;  nevertheless,  he 
reached  the  destined  port  on  the  19th  of  December.  On 
the  20th  of  January,  being  weary  of  inactivity,  he  applied 
to  Gen.  Lincoln  for  liberty  to  make  a  cruise  of  observation, 
and  ascertain  the  position  of  the  enemy's  fleet,  which  had 
been  looked  for,  a  considerable  time,  on  its  way  from  New 
York,  with  the  army  of  Gen.  Clinton,  to  invest  Charleston. 
On  the  second  or  third  day  out,  he  fell  in  with  the  British 
fleet,  and  took  four  of  their  transports,  laden  with  troops, 
provisions,  &c,  but  was  himself  chased  back  into  port,  by 
four  ships  of  war ;  and  in  a  short  time  after,  the  enemy 
commenced  their  preparations  for  a  regular  siege  of  the  city. 
This  was  his  last  feat  on  the  ocean ;  the  brilliant  sunshine 
of  success,  which  had  so  long  brightened  his  course,  now  set 
in  clouds  and  gloomy  disaster.  Neptune,  the  ruler  of  the 
sea,  had  befriended  him  all  his  life,  and  when  he  forsook  his 
service,  and  entered  into  battle  on  the  solid  land,  his  good 
fortune  departed,  and  his  beloved  ships  perished,  or  fell  into 
the  hands  of  the  enemy.  Amidst  all  his  exposures  and  hair- 
breadth escapes  in  his  numerous  sea-fights,  he  was  never 
wounded ;  but,  like  Washington,  bore  a  charmed  life,  not  to 
be  destroyed  by  his  enemies. 

The  defense  of  Charleston  was  the  first  attempt  of  the 
Americans  to  maintain  a  town  against  a  besieging  army; 
and  its  disastrous  termination  taught  them,  when  too  late, 
that  their  unwalled,  open  cities,  were  poorly  calculated  for 
defense.  The  winter  of  1780  proved  to  be  one  of  great 
severity,  even  at  the  south,  and  the  cold  nearly  as  great  as 
that  common  to  the  middle  states.  The  sailors  in  Com. 
Whipple's  fleet  had  been  shipped  for  a  six  months'  cruise 
in  a  southern  latitude ;  and  not  knowing  their  final  destina- 
tion, were  entirely  unprovided  with  clothing  for  the  severe 
winter  which  followed.     There  was  no  clothing  for  them  in 


150  ABRAHAM    WHIPPLE. 

the  vessels,  and  no  other  resource  to  relieve  their  wants  but 
from  his  own  funds.  The  generosity  of  their  commander 
toward  sailors  was  unbounded;  and  to  alleviate  their  suffer- 
ings, he  advanced  several  thousand  dollars  from  his  own 
funds,  to  cover  their  shivering  bodies  in  garments  suited  to 
the  season.  These  supplies  were  delivered  to  the  pursers 
of  the  several  ships  under  his  command,  and  the  amounts 
deducted  from  their  wages,  as  is  customary  in  such  cases ; 
and  yet,  from  the  subsequent  loss  of  the  fleet,  and  perhaps, 
also,  the  books  of  the  pursers,  he  had  not,  in  1786,  received 
a  single  dollar  for  this  noble  and  generous  expenditure  in 
the  cause  of  his  country,  nor  did  he  ever  obtain  a  tithe  of 
the  amount  justly  due  him. 

During  the  siege  an  almost  daily  correspondence  was 
carried  on  with  Gen.  Lincoln,  who  constantly  consulted  him 
in  the  disposition  of  the  ships  for  the  defense  of  the  city, 
and  the  annoyance  of  the  enemy.  A  large  number  of 
these  letters  are  on  the  files  of  his  naval  manuscripts,  pre- 
served with  much  care;  but  as  they  relate  to  no  very  inter- 
esting or  particular  events,  they  will  not  be  quoted,  but  the 
history  of  the  siege  given,  as  related  by  Dr.  Ramsey.  From 
the  beginning  to  the  end  of  this  disastrous  affair,  Com. 
Whipple,  with  his  officers  and  men,  exerted  themselves  with 
untiring  assiduity  and  the  greatest  gallantry,  in  defending 
the  place,  as  well  after  the  destruction  of  their  ships  as  before. 
The  batteries  erected  from  the  ship's  guns  on  the  banks  of 
the  Cooper  river,  and  manned  by  their  crews,  were  very  an- 
noying to  the  besiegers,  and  prolonged  the  investment  until 
the  expenditure  of  their  provisions  threatened  them  with 
starvation,  and  did  full  as  much  toward  their  final  surrender 
as  the  guns  of  the  enemy. 

"  The  British  fleet,  with  their  troops  on  board,  six  thou- 
sand in  number,  under  the  command  of  Sir  Henry  Clinton, 
sailed  from  New   York  on  the  20th  of  December,   1779. 


ABRAHAM    WHIPPLE.  151 

Their  outward  course  was  boisterous  and  disastrous,  losing 
nearly  all  their  cavalry  horses,  and  it  was  as  late  as  the  11th 
of  February,  1780,  before  they  landed  at  the  distance  of 
thirty  miles  from  Charleston.     On  the  29th  of  March,  Clin- 
ton passed  over  Ashley  river,  and  commenced  erecting  bat- 
teries for  the  siege  of  the  town.     Gen.  Lincoln  constructed 
lines  of  defense  across  Charleston  neck,  from  Cooper  to 
Ashley  river.      On  the  12th  of  April  the  British  batteries 
were  opened.    Their  fleet  under  Admiral  Arbuthnot,  of  eight 
ships,  one  a  sixty-four,  crossed  the  bar  on  the  20th  of  March, 
and  anchored  in 'five  fathom  hole;'  while  the  fleet  under 
Com.  Whipple,  composed  of  smaller  vessels,  being  unable 
to  prevent  their  crossing  the  bar  at  the  mouth  of  the  harbor, 
retreated  up  to  Charleston,  where  his  ships  were  disarmed, 
and  the  crews  and  guns  of  all  the  fleet  but  one,  were  put 
on  shore  to  reinforce  the  batteries."     Although  sailors  are 
the  bravest  of  men,  whether  fighting  on  the  land  or  the 
water;  yet  when  on  shore  they  are  deprived  of  their  favor- 
ite element,  and  lose  that  esprit  de  corps  so  peculiar  to 
them  on  ship  board.     The  commodore  felt  the  want  of  sea 
room,  and  the  fresh  breezes  of  the  ocean,  by  which  to  ma- 
neuver hk  ships,  and  to  point  his  guns.     When  he  reluct- 
antly abandoned  his  vessels  and  stepped  on  to  terra  firma, 
he  was  like  an  eagle  with  his  wings  clipped,  unable  to  soar 
aloft,  or  pounce  upon  his  prey;  nevertheless,  his  men  be- 
haved bravely,  and  did  all  they  could  for  the  defense  of  the 
town.     "  The  fire  of  the  British  was  much  superior  to  that 
of  the  Americans ;  the  former  having  twenty-one  mortars 
and  royals,  and  the  latter  only  two ;  while  their  battering 
cannon  were  much  larger  and  more  numerous,  with  three 
times  as  many  men.     During  the  siege  Sir  Henry  Clinton 
received  a  reinforcement  of  three  thousand  men,  making  in 
all  nine  thousand  land  forces  to  oppose,  while  Gen.  Lincoln 
had   less  than  three  thousand.      By  the  6th  of  May  the 


152  ABRAHAM    WHIPPLE. 

provisions  of  the  besieged  were  nearly  exhausted,  and  the 
inhabitants  of  the  town  became  clamorous  with  the  Ameri- 
can commander  for  a  surrender  of  the  place,  as  they  could 
sustain  the  siege  no  longer.  On  the  11th  of  May  the  town 
was  surrendered,  and  the  brave  defenders  became  prisoners 
of  war  to  a  man  who  proved  to  be  a  very  ungenerous 
enemy,  and  treated  his  captives  with  all  the  rigor  so  preva- 
lent at  that  period,  when  the  Americans  were  considered  as 
rebels,  and  not  as  common  enemies,  and,  therefore,  not  en- 
titled to  the  usages  of  the  laws  of  nations."  On  the  final 
results  of  the  siege,  he  remarks,  "  I  faithfully  exerted  myself 
to  promote  the  interest  and  honor  of  my  country ;  and  al- 
though the  town  was  surrendered,  American  honor  was 
triumphant." 

After  the  capitulation,  he  made  an  arrangement  with  Ad- 
miral Arbuthnot,  into  whose  charge  the  seamen  luckily  fell 
instead  of  Sir  H.  Clinton,  for  their  parole;  agreeing  that  the 
seamen  and  marines  should  be  exchanged,  when  an  opportu- 
nity offered.  But  none  such  occurred,  as  the  British  govern- 
ment decided  on  keeping  in  prison  all  the  American  seamen 
which  fell  into  their  hands,  until  the  close  of  the  war.  Their 
depredations  had  been  so  severe  on  their  commerce,  that 
they  considered  this  the  only  effectual  mode  of  restraining 
them.  While  their  seamen  amounted  to  eighty- five  thou- 
sand, the  Americans  could  at  no  time  muster,  probably,  more 
than  five  thousand.  The  loss  of  so  large  a  number  of  the 
continental  ships,  at  the  fall  of  Charleston,  nearly  ruined  the 
American  navy,  and  put  a  stop  to  any  further  effective  oper- 
ations by  sea.  The  presence  of  the  French  fleet  on  our  coasts, 
supplied  in  some  degree  the  loss  of  our  own,  and  caused 
Congress  to  think  there  was  not  so  much  need  of  a  navy  as 
in  the  early  years  of  the  war,  when  they  had  to  contend  single- 
handed  with  the  most  powerful  marine  in  the  world.  Ad- 
miral Arbuthnot  was  doubtless  acquainted  with  the  name 


ABRAHAM    WHIPPLE.  153 

and  character  of  Com.  Whipple,  and  felt  more  respect  for  a 
brave  man  in  misfortune  than  many  of  the  enemy's  com- 
manders in  the  land  service,  who  were  generally  notorious 
for  their  cruelty  and  ungenerous  conduct  to  their  American 
prisoners.  Some  delay  must  have  taken  place  in  carrying 
out  the  capitulation,  as  he  did  not  reach  Chester  in  Pennsyl- 
vania, the  place  of  destination  for  the  seamen, until  the  last 
of  June.  Disease  prevailed  extensively  amongst  his  men,  as 
is  almost  universally  the  case  in  besieged  towns,  especially 
the  small-pox,  which  continued  to  be  the  scourge  of  the 
American  troops,  from  the  beginning  to  the  end  of  the  war. 
At  Chester,  no  regular  hospitals  were  provided  for  the  sick, 
and  with  his  characteristic  generosity,  Com.  Whipple,  hired 
a  suitable  house  for  their  accommodation  at  his  own  ex- 
pense, furnishing  them  with  all  needed  supplies  for  their 
comfort,  whereby  he  says,  "Many  useful  lives  were  pre- 
served to  their  country."  At  this  place  he  remained  two 
years  and  seven  months,  a  prisoner,  the  most  dreary  of  his 
life,  until  at  the  close  of  the  war,  he  was  exchanged  for  Capt. 
Gayton,  of  the  Romulus,  a  forty-four  gun  frigate.  During 
all  this  period,  he  was  deprived  of  the  means  of  earning  a 
subsistence;  and  himself  and  family  were  to  be  supported 
out  of  his  former  stores,  so  that  at  the  declaration  of  peace, 
he  was  left  in  a  destitute  condition,  at  the  age  of  fifty  years, 
a  period  when  the  energies  and  ambition  of  most  men  begin 
to  fail. 

In  178G,  he  petitioned  Congress  for  a  redress  of  his  griev- 
ances ;  and  that  they  would  do  him  justice,  by  repaying  the 
amount  they  justly  owed  him.  At  the  close  of  the  petition, 
after  stating  his  services  in  the  cause  of  liberty,  (a  paper 
which  has  afforded  dates  for  all  the  interesting  events  of  Ms 
life,)  he  says,  "  Thus  having  exhausted  the  means  of  support- 
ing myself  and  family,  I  was  reduced  to  the  sad  necessity 
of  mortgaging  my  little  farm,  the  remnant  I  had  left,  to 


154  ABRAHAM    WHIPPLE. 

obtain  money  for  a  temporary  support.  This  farm  is  now 
gone ;  and  having  been  sued  out  of  possession,  I  am  turned 
into  the  world  at  an  advanced  age,  feeble  and  valetudinary, 
with  my  wife  and  children,  destitute  of  a  house,  or  a  home 
that  I  can  call  my  own,  or  have  the  means  of  hiring.  This 
calamity  has  arisen  from  two  causes ;  viz. :  First,  from  my 
disbursing  large  sums  in  France  and  Charleston.  In  the 
former,  I  expended  for  the  service  of  the  United  States,  to 
the  amount  of  three  hundred  and  sixty  French  guineas ;  a 
large  part  of  that  sum  was  appropriated  to  the  pay  of  a 
company  of  marines;  the  other  part  for  sea  stores  to  ac- 
commodate a  number  of  gendeman  passengers,  sent  on 
board  by  the  commissioners,  to  take  passage  for  America, 
for  which  I  have  never  been  recompensed.  And  secondly, 
my  having  served  the  United  States  from  the  15th  of  June, 
1775,  to  December,  1782,  without  receiving  a  farthing  of 
wages,  or  subsistence  from  them,  since  December,  1776. 
My  advances  in  France  and  Charleston  amount,  in  the 
whole,  to  nearly  seven  thousand  dollars  in  specie,  exclusive 
of  interest.  The  repayment  of  this,  or  a  part  of  it,  might 
be  the  happy  means  of  regaining  the  farm  I  have  been 
obliged  to  give  up,  and  snatch  my  family  from  misery  and 
ruin." 

This  sum  with  the  interest  would,  in  1786,  amount  to  at 
lea^t  ten  thousand  dollars ;  add  to  this,  six  years'  pay  and 
subsistence,  at  one  thousand  dollars  a  year,  and  there  was 
sixteen  thousand  dollars  due  him  for  time  and  money,  ex- 
pended in  the  service  of  the  United  States.  On  the  10th  of 
October,  1786,  the  commissioner  of  accounts  in  the  marine 
department,  to  whom  was  referred  the  petition,  reported  in 
its  favor,  when  Congress  directed  him  to  refund  the  momy 
advanced  in  France,  but  say  nothing  about  the  disburse- 
ments at  Charleston.  What  the  sum  allowed  to  him  was, 
is  not  stated,  but  in  an  application  which  he  made  in  1811, 


ABRAHAM    WHIPPLE.  155 

for  a  pension,  he  says  he  was  paid  in  "  final  settlements,  or 
United  States  securities,  which,  owing  to  his  indigent  cir- 
cumstances at  that  time,  he  was  obliged  to  sell  for  two  shil- 
lings and  sixpence  in  the  pound,  or  a  discount  of  more  than 
eighty  per  cent.  He  had  but  two  choices;  either  to  do  this, 
or  to  let  his  family  suffer  for  the  necessaries  of  life."  Thus, 
the  government,  instead  of  paying  him  in  specie,  or  money 
equivalent  to  that  which  he  had  advanced  for  them,  paid 
him  in  their  worthless  paper,  which,  purporting  to  be  val- 
uable for  its  face,  was  little  better  to  him  than  so  many 
rags.  Owing  to  the  low  credit  of  the  country,  it  fell  into  the 
hands  of  greedy  speculators,  who  finally  realized,  and  put 
into  their  own  pockets,  the  very  money  due  to  Com.  Whipple. 
But  he,  generous  man,  was  not  the  only  one  who  suffered 
from  his  country's  poverty ;  hundreds  of  others,  both  of  the 
army  and  navy,  who  had  spent  years  in  the  service  of  the 
republic,  received  nothing  in  return  but  these  '■'■final  certifi- 
cates" the  mere  shadow  of  a  reality.  Soon  after  his  ex- 
change, he  received  permission  from  Robert  Morris,  one  of 
the  board  of  admiralty,  to  leave  the  service  of  the  United 
States .     It  is  as  follows : 

"Marine  Office,  Philadelphia,  April  23d,  1782. 

Leave  of  absence  is  hereby  granted  to  Capt.  Abraham 
Whipple,  of  the  American  navy,  to  go  into  private  service, 
until  called  upon. 

Robert  Morris." 

He  now  resided,  like  Cincinnatus,  on  his  little  farm  in 
Cranston,  and  guided  a  plow  instead  of  a  ship.  After  the 
peace  was  fully  established  in  1784,  the  merchants  of  Provi- 
dence resumed  their  foreign  navigation;  and  one  of  the  first 
ships  sent  to  Great  Britain,  was  built  and  owned  by  John 
Brown,  of  Providence.  She  was  called  the  "  General  Wash- 
ington," and  a  fine  figure  of  his  noble  person  graced  her 
bows.     The  command  of  this  vessel  was  given  to  Com. 


15G  ABRAHAM    WHIPPLE. 

Whipple,  and  he  had  the  honor  of  first  unfurling  the  Amer- 
ican flag  on  the  river  Thames.  Her  fine  model  and  attract- 
ive name  excited  the  notice  of  the  cockneys,  and  hundreds 
of  persons  daily  visited  her,  as  a  rare  sight  from  the  new 
republic.  This  notice  was  not  a  little  flattering  to  the  pride 
of  the  commodore,  who  fully  sustained  the  dignity  of  his 
country,  and  answered  their  numerous  questions  with  pro- 
priety and  kindness. 

After  his  return  from  this  voyage,  he  continued  to  live  on 
his  farm,  and  during  the  stormy  period  of  the  paper-money 
war  in  Rhode  Island,  was  elected  a  representative  to  the 
Legislature  from  the  town  of  Cranston,  in  1786.  The  ad- 
vocates of  the  paper-money  system  were  then  in  power,  and 
chose  Othniel  Gorton,  a  clumsy  old  man,  for  speaker.  Mr. 
John  Howland,  who  narrates  the  following  anecdote,  says, 
"  It  was  the  habit  of  Gorton  to  keep  a  large  quid  of  tobacco 
in  one  side  of  his  mouth,  which  pressed  out  one  of  his  cheeks. 
The  most  of  the  debaters  were  on  the  opposite  side  of  the 
hall  from  that  on  which  the  commodore  sat,  and  the  speaker's 
face  was  generally  turned  that  way.  Once  in  the  course  of 
the  debate,  Whipple  had  cogitated  a  speech,  which  he  waited 
for  a  chance  to  deliver.  At  last,  out  of  patience,  he  rose 
and  called,  '  Mr.  Speaker !'  The  speaker,  whose  face  was 
the  other  way,  did  not  hear  him.  He  then  raised  his  voice 
to  its  utmost  limit,  'Mr.  Speaker!'  The  speaker  started, 
and  turning  to  the  commodore  said,  '  I  hear  you,  sir,'  rather 
audibly.  Whipple  then  began  as  follows :  '  I  wish,  Mr. 
Speaker,  you  would  shift  your  quid  of  tobacco  from  your 
starboard  to  your  larboard  jaw,  that  it  might  give  your  head 
a  cant  this  way,  so  that  you  could  sometimes  hear  some- 
thing from  this  side  of  the  house.'  He  then  commenced  his 
speech,  which  was  not  a  long  one,  and  when  through,  sat 
down."  This  anecdote  is  in  character  with  the  man,  who 
often  spoke  in  nautical  phrases,  and  sometimes  in  language 


ABRAHAM    WHIPPLE.  157 

rough  as  the  ocean's  winds,  amidst  whose  waves  he  had  been 
cradled. 

On  the  formation  of  the  OhioCompany,  he  emigrated  with 
his  wife  and  son  to  Marietta,  in  company  with  the  family  of 
Col.  Sproat,  who  had  married  his  daughter  Catharine.  He 
was  now  fifty-five  years  old,  when  he  left  the  land  of  his  fore- 
fathers, to  seek  a  new  home  in  the  valley  of  the  Ohio.  The 
fertility  of  the  new  world  had  been  so  much  lauded  by  its 
advocates,  that  it  conveyed  to  the  mind  the  idea  of  a  second 
Paradise.  The  first  settlers,  however,  found  that  the  "  briers 
and  thorns"  of  the  curse  were  there,  if  not  in  reality,  yet 
under  the  semblance  of  the  tomahawk  and  knife  of  the  In- 
dian. The  first  six  years  of  his  residence  here,  were  passed 
in  constant  danger  from  the  savage  foe,  although,  from  his 
age,  he  was  not  exposed  so  much  to  their  attacks  as  younger 
men.  He,  however,  once  had  a  little  taste  of  the  feeling 
which  attends  the  too  near  approach  of  the  hostile  Indian. 
Col.  Sproat,  with  whom  he  constantly  resided,  during  the 
war,  had  built  a  log-house  about  midway  between  the  gar- 
rison at  the  Point  and  Campus  Martius,  and  cleared  a  piece 
of  ground  for  a  garden.  On  this  land  Com.  Whipple  had  a 
fine  patch  of  melons,  which  somebody  stole  and  carried 
away  for  several  nights.  Supposing  the  boys  of  the  garri- 
son were  the  depredators,  he  one  moonlight  night  concluded 
to  watch  for  the  rogues,  by  standing  sentry  in  the  log-house, 
a  few  yards  only  from  the  melons.  With  his  old  musket  well 
charged,  he  took  his  stand  by  one  of  the  loop-holes  in  the 
logs.  About  midnight  three  Indians  stepped  over  the  fence 
and  commenced  searching  for  ripe  melons.  Not  expecting 
depredators  of  this  kind,  he  looked  quietly  on,  in  silence. 
He  could  have  easily  killed  one  or  more  of  them,  with  his 
well  loaded  musket;  but  he  felt  no  enmity  toward  them; 
they  had  never  injured  him  nor  any  of  his  kindred ;  but  on 
the   contrary,  himself  and  countrymen  were  intruding  on 


158  ABRAHAM    WHIPPLE. 

them,  and  taking  the  land  of  their  fathers  and  themselves 
from  them.  And  as  to  the  melons  they  were  not  worth  the 
life  of  a  man,  even  of  a  savage.  He  resolved  thus  with 
himself.  "  If  they  do  not  attack  me,  I  will  not  attack  them." 
Had  they  been  his  old  oppressors,  the  redcoats,  and  in 
time  of  war,  as  it  then  was  with  the  Indians,  his  conduct 
would  have  been  very  different.  He  did  not  refrain  from 
any  fear  of  the  result,  for  the  report  of  Ms  shot  would  have 
brought  instant  aid  from  the  garrison,  not  one  hundred  rods 
distant,  and  the  Indians  would  have  fled  without  any  attempt 
on  the  house,  as  they  would  at  once  conclude  it  contained 
more  than  one  man.  When  they  had  selected  such  melons 
as  suited  them,  they  retired;  and  the  commodore  rested 
quietly  the  remainder  of  the  night.  At  sunrise  he  returned 
to  the  garrison,  but  did  not  watch  the  melons  again. 

After  the  peace  in  179G,  he  moved  with  his  wife  on  to  a 
small  farm  of  twelve  acres,  on  the  bank  of  the  Muskingum 
river,  two  miles  from  its  mouth.  He  was  now  in  his  sixty- 
third  year,  and  had  no  other  means  of  support  than  the 
produce  of  this  land,  cultivated  with  his  own  hands.  On 
this  scanty  plantation  he  continued  to  live  and  to  labor  for 
fifteen  years,  raising  barely  sufficient  of  the  most  common 
necessaries  of  life  to  support  him  and  his  aged  partner  in  a 
very  frugal  manner,  but  lacking  the  most  of  its  comforts, 
especially  comfortable  clothing,  which  was  scarce  and  dear 
in  the  new  settlements.  He  thus  manfully  struggled  on, 
without  murmuring  or  complaining,  respected  and  honored 
by  his  acquaintance  for  his  perseverance  and  industry. 

At  length  in  1811,  when  he  was  seventy-eight  years  old 
and  the  powers  of  nature  has  so  far  failed  that  he  could  no 
longer  follow  the  plow,  or  delve  the  earth,  he  applied  to 
Congress,  urged  thereto  by  his  friends,  for  a  pension.  They 
granted  him  half-pay  of  a  captain  in  the  navy,  or  thirty- 
dollars  a  month.     This  relieved  him  from  any  further  anxiety 


ABRAHAM    WHIPPLE.  159 

as  to  a  support  in  the  last  days  of  his  life,  and  rendered  the 
remaining  years  easy  and  free  from  care. 

Once  during  this  agricultural  period,  he  was  allowed  to 
visit  the  sea,  snuff  its  saline  breezes,  and  again  be  lulled  to 
sleep  in  his  cot  by  the  dash  of  the  ocean's  waves,  strangely 
calling  to  mind  the  scenes  of  his  early  manhood. 

In  the  year  1800,  some  of  the  enterprising  men  of  Marietta, 
formed  a  company  for  building  a  small  vessel,  and  actually 
built,  rigged,  and  loaded  with  produce,  a  brig  of  one  hundred 
and  four  tons,  named  the  St.  Clair,  in  honor  of  the  governor 
of  the  northwest  territory.  Her  cargo  was  made  up  of  pork 
and  flour,  and  she  cleared  from  Marietta  in  May,  1801,  that 
town  having  been  made  a  port  of  clearance.  She  crossed 
the  falls  of  the  Ohio  in  safety,  and  early  in  July  was  at  New 
Orleans,  then  in  the  occupancy  of  the  Spaniards,  where  the 
brig  lay  some  days  anchored  in  the  stream,  from  the  extrav- 
agance of  the  port  charges,  while  she  took  on  board  some 
stores  for  the  voyage.  In  July  he  sailed  for  the  town  of 
Havana,  with  a  crew  composed  chiefly  of  landsmen.  His 
first  mate  was  a  good  seaman,  but  entirely  ignorant  of  navi- 
gation, not  being  able  to  take  an  observation,  or  ascertain 
the.  latitude,  so  that  if  any  accident  had  happened  to  Com. 
Whipple,  no  one  on  board  could  navigate  the  vessel. 
The  second  mate  was  Bennet  Cook,  a  young,  active  man,  and 
a  good  sailor,  but  ignorant  of  navigation.  The  St.  Clair, 
however,  reached  her  destined  port  in  safety.  Provisions  of 
all  kinds  were  scarce  and  dear,  affording  a  fine  market  for 
her  load.  The  flour  sold  for  forty  dollars  a  barrel,  but  was 
subject  to  a  duty  of  twenty  dollars.  This  port  has  always 
been  noted  for  its  high  duties,  which  served  to  enrich  the 
government,  but  to  impoverish  the  people.  With  the  pro- 
ceeds of  the  cargo,  he  bought  a  load  of  sugar.  It  was  late 
in  August  before  the  brig  left  the  port  of  Havana  on  her 
voyage  to  Philadelphia,  where  she  was  consigned  and  finally 


160  ABRAHAM    WHIPPLE. 

sold.  In  the  meantime  the  yellow  fever  broke  out  in  the 
place  and  attacked  several  of  the  crew,  some  of  them  several 
days  after  leaving  the  island.  Fortunately  for  Com.  Whip- 
ple, he  found  his  son  John,  who  had  been  several  years  on 
the  sea,  and  a  finished  sailor,  at  this  port,  and  engaged  him 
for  the  voyage  as  his  mate.  His  health  remained  firm,  and 
with  his  aid  the  brig  reached  Philadelphia,  in  distress,  from 
sickness  and  death  amongst  the  crew.  The  voyage  was  a 
productive  one  to  the  owners,  and  encouraged  the  inhabitants 
of  Marietta  to  continue  the  business.  Com.  Whipple  re- 
turned to  his  home  by  land,  but  did  not  navigate  any  more 
vessels  to  the  sea.  The  St.  Clair  was  the  first  rigged  vessel 
ever  built  on  the  Ohio  river,  and  he  had  the  honor  of  con- 
ducting her  to  the  ocean.  In  after  life  he  used  to  claim  the 
distinction  of  firing  the  first  gun  at  the  British  in  the  Revo- 
lutionary war  on  the  ocean,  and  the  navigating  the  first 
vessel  built  on  the  Ohio  river,  to  the  sea.  On  the  latter  oc- 
casion Capt.  Jonathan  Dcvol,  who  possessed  all  the  imagina- 
tion of  a  poet,  if  he  lacked  the  harmony  of  measure,  wrote 
the  following  lines. 

The  scene  is  laid  at  the  mouth  of  the  Mississippi,  and  as 
Com.  Whipple  entered  the  ocean  with  the  St.  Clair,  Nep- 
tune and  his  Tritons  are  supposed  to  welcome  him  with 
military  honors. 

"  The  Triton  crieth, 
'  Who  comcth  now  from  shore  'i ' 

Neptune  replieth, 
'  'Tis  the  old  commodore.' 
Long  has  it  been  since  I  saw  him  before, 
In  the  year  seventy-five  from  Columbia  he  came, 
The  pride  of  the  Briton  on  ocean  to  tame  : 
And  often,  too,  with  his  gallant  crew, 
Hath  he  crossed  the  belt  of  ocean  blue. 

On  the  Gallic  coast, 

I  have  seen  him  tost, 


ABRAHAM    WHIPPLE.  161 

While  his  thundering  cannon  lulled  my  waves, 
And  roused  my  nymphs  from  their  coral  caves ; 
When  he  fought  for  freedom  with  all  hio  braves, 
Iu  the  war  of  the  Revolution. 

But  now  he  comes  from  the  western  woods, 
Descending  slow  with  gentle  floods, 
The  pioneer  of  a  mighty  train, 
Which  commerce  brings  to  my  domain. 
Up,  sons  of  the  wave, 
Greet  the  noble  and  brave  ! 
Present  your  arms  unto  him. 
His  gray  hair  shows, 
Life  nears  its  close  : 
Let's  pay  the  honors  due  him. 
Sea-maids  attend  with  lute  and  lyre, 

And  bring  your  conchs,  my  Triton  sons  ; 
In  chorus  blow  to  the  aged  sire, 
.     A  welcome  to  my  dominions. " 

For  several  years  after  this  period,  ship-building  was  car- 
ried on  with  great  spirit  at  Marietta;  but  Com.  Whipple, 
having  opened  the  way  to  the  ocean,  left  the  future  guid- 
ance of  the  navigation  to  younger  men.  Not  less  than 
twenty  ships,  brigs  and  schooners,  from  one  hundred  and  fifty 
to  four  hnndred  and  fifty  tons  burthen,  were  built  up  to  the 
year  1808,  besides  some  of  Mr.  Jefferson's  gun-boats.  Two 
or  three  of  their  number  were  lost  in  attempting  to  pass  the 
rapids  at  Louisville,  when  the  water  was  too  low,  but  at  a 
proper  stage  no  difficulty  was  experienced.  Several  of  them 
took  in  cotton  from  the  plantations  on  the  Mississippi,  for 
Liverpool,  in  addition  to  their  other  lading,  as  the  cotton 
bales  were  so  loosely  packed  at  that  time,  that  a  ship  could 
not  be  fully  loaded  with  that  article.  Owing  to  its  bulky 
nature,  ten  cents  a  pound  was  charged  for  the  freight. 

As  has  been  observed,  in  1811,  Com.  Whipple  received 
from  Congress  the  half-pay  of  a  captain  in  the  service,  or 

11 


162  ABRAHAM    WHIPPLE. 

thirty  dollars  a  month;  which  enabled  him  to  cease  from 
laboring  with  his  own  hands  for  the  support  of  himself  and 
wife,  which  he  had  been  obliged  to  do  for  the  last  twenty- 
three  years. 

In  early  life  he  married  Miss  Sarah  Hopkins,  the  sister  of 
Gov.  Hopkins,  of  Rhode  Island,  a  woman  every  way  worthy 
of  him,  and  with  whom  he  lived  to  enjoy  the  smiles,  or  to 
bear  the  frowns,  of  fortune,  for  more  than  fifty  years.  The 
fruits  of  this  marriage  were  two  daughters  and  one  son.  The 
oldest  daughter  was  married  to  Col.  Ebenezer  Sproat,  and 
the  younger  to  Dr.  Comstock,  of  Smithfield,  R.  I.,  where  she 
resided  after  her  father's  removal  to  Ohio.  John,  his  only 
son,  continued  to  follow  the  sea,  after  leaving  Marietta,  and 
never  married,  so  that  the  family  name  perished  at  the  death 
of  its  illustrious  founder.  Several  descendants  of  the  female 
branches  are  living  in  the  states  of  Michigan,  Rhode  Island 
and  Massachusetts,  under  the  names  of  Sibley,  Comstock, 
and  Fisher. 

In  person  Com.  Whipple  was  rather  short,  thickset  and 
stout,  with  great  muscular  strength  in  the  days  of  his  man- 
hood :  eyes  dark  grey,  with  manly,  strongly  marked  fea- 
tures, indicating  firmness  and  intrepidity.  He  was  fond  of 
daring  exploits,  and  the  more  hazardous  they  were,  with  so 
much  the  greater  alacrity  he  entered  into  them.  For  stern, 
rigid  discipline,  no  man  in  the  American  navy  exceeded  him ; 
and  yet  from  numerous  letters  on  his  files  addressed  to  him 
by  his  subordinates,  he  appears  to  have  been  loved  and 
highly  respected  by  those  under  his  command.  It  was  often 
noticed  by  the  sailors,  that  in  fair,  pleasant  weather,  with  a 
smooth  sea,  he  was  irritable  and  surly;  but  as  soon  as  a 
severe  gale  or  storm  arose,  and  there  was  actual  danger,  his 
countenance  brightened,  while  the  most  cheerful,  animated 
air,  took  possession  of  the  man,  diffusing  life  and  courage 


ABRAHAM    WHIPPLE.  163 

into  all  around  him,  so  that  no  crew  could  be  cowardly  with 
such  a  leader.  When  in  the  greatest  danger,  he  was  the 
most  at  his  ease.  His  benevolence  and  kind  feelings  for 
those  under  his  charge  were  often  put  to  severe  trials,  and 
always  shone  with  brilliant  luster.  Thousands  of  dollars 
were  expended  by  him  ro  relieve  their  wants,  which  were 
never  repaid  by  the  government,  and  for  which  he  suffered 
years  of  privation  and  labor,  at  a  period  of  his  life  when 
want  bears  most  heavily  on  the  mind  of  man.  It  is  pre- 
sumed that  no  other  one  amongst  the  military  or  naval  com- 
manders of  the  Revolution,  expended  as  much  for  the  men 
under  their  care,  with  the  exception  of  that  extraordinary 
and  good  man,  the  Marquis  Lafayette.  His  success  on 
the  ocean  was  not  exceeded  by  that  of  any  other  in  the 
navy;  and,  although  exposed  to  the  greatest  dangers  and 
hazards,  was  never  captured  or  wounded  by  his  enemies, 
while  at  sea ;  but  when  he  stepped  on  to  dry  land,  his  good 
fortune  forsook  him,  and  at  the  surrender  of  Charleston,  he 
became  a  captive  for  more  than  two  years.  His  exploits 
and  character  will  long  be  remembered  by  the  inhabitants 
of  Rhode  Island  and  Marietta ;  while  his  name  and  portrait 
ought  to  occupy  a  distinguished  place,  instead  of  being 
passed  by  in  silence,  in  The  American  Portrait  Gallery, 
amongst  the  celebrated  men  of  the  Revolution. 

He  died  after  a  short  illness,  on  the  29th  of  May,  in  the 
year  1819,  aged  eighty-five  years,  at  a  small  farm,  three 
miles  from  Marietta,  where  he  had  resided  for  several  years, 
near  his  widowed  daughter,  Mrs.  Catharine  Sproat,  whose 
soothing  cares  and  tender  assiduities  smoothed  her  parent's 
progress  to  the  grave.  His  wife,  Mrs.  Sarah  Whipple,  died 
in  October,  1818,  preceding  him  but  a  few  months,  aged  sev- 
enty-nine years.  They  lie  buried  side  by  side,  in  the  beau- 
tiful mound  square  at  Marietta,  and  his  tombstone  bears  the 


1G4  ABRAHAM    WHIPPLE. 

following  inscription,  written  by  the  lion.  Paul  Fearing,  his 
warm  friend  and  admirer : 

SACRED 

TO    THE    MEMORY    OF 

(Hommoirorc   Slbraljam    llUjipplc, 

WHOSE    NAME,    SKILL,    AND    COURAGE, 
WILL    EVER    REMAIN    THE    PRDDE    AND    BOAST    OF    HIS    COUNTRY. 

IN    THE    LATE    REVOLUTION,    HE    WAS     THE 

FIRST    ON   THE    SEAS    TO    HURL    DEFIANCE    AT   PROUD    BRITAIN  \ 

GALLANTLY    LEADING    THE    WAY    TO    ARREST    FROM 

THE  MISTRESS  OF  THE  OCEAN,  HER  SCEPTER, 

AND    THERE    TO    WAVE    THE    STAR-SPANGLED    BANNER. 

HE  ALSO  CONDUCTED   TO  SEA, 

THE   FIRST    SQUARE-RIGGED    VESSEL    EVER    BUILT    ON   THE    OHIO, 

OPENLNG    TO    COMMERCE 

RESOURCES  BEYOND  CALCULATION. 


HON.    JAMES    MITCHELL    VARNUM* 

"  Two  brothers  of  the  name  of  Varnum,  emigrated  from 
Wales  to  Boston,  just  prior  to  the  year  1G60,  and  from 
thence  to  Ipswich,  where  one  died  without  issue.  Samuel, 
the  survivor,  purchased  a  large  tract  of  land  of  the  Indians, 
in  the  town  of  Dracut,  county  of  Middlesex,  Mass.,  and 
settled  on  it  in  1664.  He  had  issue — five  sons :  John, 
Thomas,  and  Joseph,  and  two  who  were  shot  in  a  boat  while 
crossing  the  Merrimack  with  their  father.  The  descendants 
of  John  and  Thomas  reside  in  Dracut  and  elsewhere.  Jo- 
seph was  colonel  of  the  militia,  and  wounded  in  the  Indian 
war  of  1676.  He  erected  a  garrison  house,  which  is  still 
standing  as  the  family  mansion,  in  a  good  state  of  preser- 
vation. Joseph  Varnum  left  two  sons,  Joseph  and  Samuel, 
who  inherited  a  large  estate  from  their  father.  Joseph  had 
issue,  and  several  families  have  descended  from  him.  Sam- 
uel had  four  sons  :  Samuel,  James  Mitchell,  Joseph  Bradley, 
and  Daniel  Varnum.  Samuel  died  in  Maine,  about  twenty 
years  since ;  Joseph  B.  in  1821 ;  and  Daniel  in  1822,  on  the 
patrimonial  estate,  which  has  remained  in  the  family  since 
the  first  purchase  from  the  natives.  Most  of  the  brothers 
held  prominent  official  stations  in  Massachusetts.  Joseph 
B.  was  elected  a  member  of  Congress  from  his  native  district 
in  1795,  and  successively  re-elected  till  1811,  and  then 
elected  senator  one  term,  making  his  whole  service  in  Con- 
gress twenty-two  years.     From  1807  to   1811,  comprising 

*  The  following  sketch  is  chiefly  extracted  from  a  full  and  well  written  biogra- 
phy of  Gen.  Varnum,  by  Wilkins  Updike,  Esq.,  of  Kingston,  R.  I.,  and  published 
in  the  Memoirs  of  the  Bar  of  Rhode  Island,  in  1S42. 


10G  J.    M.    VARNUM. 

two  Congressional  terms,  lie  was   elected  speaker   of  the 
House  of  Representatives. 

The  subject  of  this  memoir,  James  Mitchell  Varnum,  was 
born  in  Dracut,  the  residence  of  his  ancestors,  in  1749.  He 
entered  Rhode  Island  College,  now  Brown  University,  then 
established  in  Warren,  and  was  in  the  first  class  that  grad- 
uated from  that  institution,  in  1769,  at  the  age  of  twenty. 
He  received  the  first  honors  of  his  class,  and  in  a  forensic 
discussion,  vindicated  the  rights  of  the  colonists  in  their  re- 
sistance to  British  taxation,  with  signal  ability.  He  kept  a 
classical  school  for  a  short  period  after  he  graduated,  and 
always  spoke  highly  of  its  benefit  to  a  student,  to  plant 
deeply  in  the  mind  those  elements  acquired  in  the  college 
hall ;  and  his  whole  life  demonstrated  that  he  had  profited 
by  it.  He  was  deeply  attached  to  mathematical  science, 
and  delighted  in  its  pursuits.  His  whole  life  was  an  evi- 
dence that  he  was  naturally  a  mathematician.  His  habits 
were  those  of  intense  study  and  boisterous  relaxation.  He 
was  fond  of  exhibiting  his  skill  in  gymnastics,  and  ever 
ready  to  exercise  in  that  ancient  art  with  any  one  who 
would  engage  with  him,  noble  or  ignoble.  Strong  and  ac- 
tive in  frame,  and  ardently  attached  to  such  exercises,  he 
gave  his  inclination  for  such  sports,  the  fullest  range,  to  a 
late  period  of  his  life. 

Soon  after  his  college  course  he  entered  the  office  of  Oli- 
ver Arnold,  in  Providence,  then  attorney -general  of  the  col- 
ony. William  Channing,  Thomas  Arnold,  John  S.  Dexter 
and  himself,  were  students  together,  at  the  time  of  Mr.  Ar- 
nold's death,  in  1770;  and  in  the  succeeding  year,  Varnum 
was  admitted  to  the  bar.  He  settled  at  East  Greenwich, 
where  his  talents  acquired  for  him  an  extensive  practice ; 
and  he  traveled  the  circuits  of  the  state,  reaping  the  honors 
and  the  rewards  of  his  profession. 

Mr.  Varnum  had  a  great  taste  for  military  life,  and  early 


J.    M.    VARNUM.  167 

joined  the  Kentish  Guards,  and  was  appointed  commander 
of  that  company  in  1774;  a  company  which,  from  their  ac- 
quirements in  military  tactics,  became  the  nursery  of  so 
many  distinguished  officers  during  the  Revolutionary  war : 
Gen.  Greene,  Gen.  Varnum,  Col.  Greene,  Col.  Crary,  Maj. 
Whitemarsh,  and  others,  making  thirty -two  in  all,  who  en- 
tered the  Revolutionary  army  as  commissioned  officers 
from  this  company  alone.  The  prominent  part  Mr.  Varnum 
had  taken  in  the  colonial  controversy,  inspired  an  ambition 
to  enter  the  military  service  of  his  country.  The  venerable 
John  Howland,  president  of  the  Historical  Society  of  this 
state,  in  a  communication,  states,  that  "  When  the  news  of 
the  Lexington  battle  reached  East  Greenwich,  Varnum's 
company  mustered,  and  marched  to  Providence,  on  their 
way  to  the  scene  of  action.  I  recollect  seeing  them  on  their 
arrival ;  Nathaniel  Greene,  of  Coventry,  afterward  the  gen- 
eral, was  a  private,  with  a  musket  on  his  shoulder;  and 
Christopher  Greene,  afterward  Col.  Greene,  who  defended 
Red  Bank,  was  also  there,  a  private  in  the  same  company. 
They  marched  beyond  Pawtucket,  and  hearing  that  the 
enemy  had  retired  to  Boston,  they  returned.  The  next  week, 
the  General  Assembly  convened,  and  resolved  to  raise  three 
regiments  of  infantry  and  a  company  of  artillery.  Mr.  Na- 
thaniel Greene,  then  a  member  of  the  House  of  Representa- 
tives, was  appointed  brigadier-general,  and  Varnum,  colonel 
of  the  regiment  to  be  raised  in  the  counties  of  Kent  and 
King's;  Daniel  Hitchcock  to  be  colonel  of  the  regiment  to  be 
raised  in  Providence,  and  Church  to  be  colonel  of  the  regi- 
ment to  be  raised  in  the  counties  of  Newport  and  Bristol. 
Varnum  took  rank  over  Hitchcock  and  Church,  from  having 
commanded  in  the  Kentish  Guards,  with  the  rank  of  colonel. 
The  time  for  which  these  troops  were  called  out,  expired 
December  31st,  1775.  The  state  raised  two  regiments  for 
the  year  1776.     Varnum  commanded  the  first,  and  Hitch- 


168  J.    M.    VARNUM. 

cock  the  second.  The  officers  of  these  troops  afterward  re 
ceived  commissions  from  the  president  of  Congress,  when 
Washington  was  appointed  commander-in-chief.  They  were 
then  styled  continental  troops.  In  January,  1776,  the  state 
raised  a  regiment  called  state  troops,  to  be  stationed  in  New- 
port. They  remained  there  until  the  disastrous  battle  on 
Long  island.  This  regiment,  commanded  by  Col.  Lippitt, 
was  taken  into  the  continental  service,  and  ordered  to  join 
Gen.  Washington  at  New  York;  they  arrived  at  Harlem 
after  the  evacuation  of  the  city.  This  regiment  composed 
part  of  the  brigade  commanded  by  Gen.  John  Nixon,  which 
consisted  of  five  regiments,  commanded  by  Cols.  Nixon  and 
Little,  of  Massachusetts ;  Varnum,  Hitchcock,  and  Lippitt, 
of  Rhode  Island.  Toward  the  close  of  the  year,  Gen.  Nixon 
was  dispatched,  by  the  commander-in-chief,  on  furlough,  to 
Massachusetts,  to  urge  the  raising  of  new  recruits  for  the 
army,  to  supply  the  place  of  those  whose  term  of  service 
would  expire  on  the  31st  of  December;  as  without  rein- 
forcements, Gen.  Washington  would  be  left  without  an  army 
at  the  commencement  of  the  succeeding  year.  Gen.  Var- 
num then  succeeded  to  the  command  of  the  brigade.  But 
the  necessity  of  the  case,  and  the  perilous  situation  of  the 
country,  induced  Gen.  Washington  soon  after  to  send  Gen. 
Varnum  to  the  Assembly  of  Rhode  Island,  for  the  same  pur- 
pose ;  selecting,  for  this  all-important  mission,  those  officers, 
for  their  known  influence  with  their  respective  legislatures. 
The  command  of  this  brigade  of  five  regiments  then  de- 
volved on  Col.  Hitchcock,  as  the  senior  officer.  He  com- 
manded it  at  a  period  the  most  important  in  our  Revolution- 
ary history,  and  led  his  brigade  with  courage  and  ability,  in 
the  memorable  battles  of  Trenton  and  Princeton ;  and  for  his 
signal  gallantry,  received  the  special  thanks  of  Gen.  Wash- 
ington, in  front  of  the  college  at  Princeton,  and  which  he 


J.    M.    VAKNUM.  1C9 

was  requested  to  present  to  the  brigade  he  had  so   ably 
commanded." 

In  February,  1777,  Col.  Varnum  was  promoted  by  Con- 
gress to  the  rank  of  brigadier-general.  The  appointment 
was  announced  to  him  by  Gen.  Washington,  by  letter,  under 
date  of  March  3d,  of  that  year,  which  contains  ample  evi- 
dence that  his  military  bearing  had  met  the  full  approbation 
of  the  commander-in-chief.  The  General  Assembly  of  this 
state  in  their  December  session,  1776,  having  appointed  Gen. 
Varnum,  commander  of  the  state  forces,  at  their  March  ses- 
sion, 1777,  entered  the  following  honorable  testimonial  of  ap- 
probation on  their  journal :  "  Whereas,  the  appointment  and 
commission  of  Brig.  Gen.  James  M.  Varnum,  in  the  service  of 
this  state,  has  been  suspended  by  his  being  appointed  by  the 
honorable  continental  Congress,  to  the  same  rank  in  the 
continental  army :  this  assembly  do,  therefore,  in  grateful  re- 
membrance of  his  services,  vote  and  resolve,  that  he  is  dis- 
missed from  his  said  appointment,  and  that  he  be  paid  to 
the  time  his  pay  commenced  in  the  continental  service." 
"Under  the  latter  appointment,"  continues  Mr..  Howland, 
"Gen.  Varnum  commanded  all  that  body  of  troops  on  the 
Jersey  side  of  the  Delaware,  when  the  British  and  Hessians 
took  possession  of  Philadelphia.  Gen.  Washington's  purpose 
was  to  prevent  the  passage  of  the  enemy's  shipping  up  the 
river,  and  for  this  purpose  a  strong  fort  was  erected  on  Red 
Bank,  and  a  regiment  of  Marylanders  on  Mud  island.  Col. 
Christopher  Greene  commanded  the  two  Rhode  Island  regi- 
ments :  Lieut.  Col.  Samuel  Smith,  on  Mud  island,  and  Var- 
num the  whole  line  of  the  coast  of  New  Jersey..  In  October 
the  enemy  made  a  determined  attack;  but  the  battery  and 
fort  were  so  valiantly  defended,  that  the  invaders  were  de- 
feated and  compelled  to  withdraw,  and  temporarily  abandon 
the  enterprise.     The  gallant  defense  of  Fort  Mifflin,  or  Mud 


170  J.    M.    VARNUM. 

island,  and  the  defeat  of  the  Hessians  at  Fort  Mercer,  on 
Red  Bank,  drew  from  Congress,  then  sitting  at  Yorktown, 
a  resolution  of  thanks,  and  votes  of  elegant  swords  to  Col. 
Greene,  Lieut.  Col.  Smith,  and  Com.  Hazlewood,  for  their 
intrepid  defense  of  these  two  forts."  "  But  the  British,  re- 
solved on  the  capture  of  these  posts,  so  important  in  their 
position,  renewed  the  attack  in  November.  They  brought 
up  their  shipping,  the  Somerset,  of  sixty-four  guns,  and  a 
number  of  floating  batteries,  to  break  up  the  chevaux  de 
frise,  which  extended  across  the  river,  and  our  forts  opened 
their  lire  to  prevent  it.  Col.  Smith  was  wounded  on  the 
11th  of  November,  and  the  command  devolved  on  Lieut. 
Col.  Russell,  of  the  Connecticut  line,  who,  exhausted  by 
fatigue,  and  destitute  of  health,  requested  to  be  recalled. 
The  moment  was  critical.  The  commander-in-chief,  Gen. 
Washington,  had  no  idea  of  defending  the  place  through  the 
campaign,  but  wished  to  retard  the  operations  of  the  enemy, 
until  the  main  army  should  be  reinforced  by  the  Massachu- 
setts brigade,  marching  from  the  conquest  of  Saratoga,  when 
he  would  be  in  sufficient  force  to  cover  the  country,  or  to 
meet  the  enemy's  whole  force  in  the  field.  Upon  the  12th, 
he  signified  his  wish  to  Gen.  Varnum,  to  defend  the  island 
as  long  as  possible,  without  sacrificing  the  garrison.  Gen. 
Varnum,  considering  the  imminent  danger  of  the  post,  im- 
mediately convened  the  field  officers  of  Red  Bank  fort, 
with  a  request  that  one  of  them  would  volunteer,  as  Gen. 
Washington  desired  the  island  to  be  defended  as  long  as 
possible,  and  take  command  of  it  in  lieu  of  Smith,  who  had 
left.  At  this  momentous  crisis,  Maj.  Simon  Thayer  imme- 
diately offered  himself,  to  the  inexpressible  satisfaction  of 
Gen.  Varnum.  In  the  defense,  to  an  officer  knowing  all 
the  circumstances,  nothing  presented  itself  but  death,  or  an 
improbable  escape,  without  the  possibility  of  contending  on 
even  terms.     But  Maj.  Thayer  gallantly  defended  it  day  and 


J.    M.    VARNUM.  171 

night  from  the  12th,  to  twelve  o'clock  at  night  on  the  lGtli 
of  November,  when  the  breastworks  were  beaten  down,  and 
no  cover  left  for  his  men,  when  the  general  ordered  him  to 
abandon  it.  By  those  unacquainted  with  the  transaction, 
all  the  glory  has  been  ascribed  to  Col.  Smith.  If  heroic 
valor  was  to  be  rewarded,  who  should  have  had  the  sword? 
When  the  swords  which  were  wrought  in  France,  arrived, 
and  were  to  be  presented,  Gen.  Varnum  published  a  letter, 
dated  at  East  Greenwich,  August  3d,  1786,  narrating  all  the 
circumstances  attending  the  heroic  defense  of  Mud  island 
by  Maj.  Thayer.  It  is  written  in  a  natural,  straightforward 
st}le,  and  in  justice  to  the  memory  of  this  intrepid  soldier 
of  Rhode  Island,  and  of  his  country,  ought  to  be  preserved 
in  some  durable  form.  Gen.  Varnum  continued  in  active 
service  during  the  year  1778,  and  commanded  a  brigade  in 
Sullivan's  expedition  on  Rhode  Island. 

In  1779  he  resigned  his  commission  in  the  army,  there 
being  at  that  time  more  general  officers  in  the  service  than 
were  needful,  in  proportion  to  the  men,  and  his  talents  being 
more  congenial  with  political  life  than  the  duties  of  the 
camp ;  although  he  was  respected  and  esteemed  as  a  good 
and  gallant  officer.  The  legislature  of  this  state,  in  consid- 
eration of  his  national  services,  and  effectually  to  secure 
them  in  defense  of  the  state,  in  May,  1779,  elected  him  ma- 
jor-general of  the  militia,  to  which  office  he  was  unani- 
mously re-elected  during  the  remainder  of  his  life.  In  April, 
1780,  the  people  of  the  state,  in  grateful  recollection  of  his 
eminent  services  in  the  cause  of  public  liberty,  and  desirous 
to  throw  into  the  national  councils,  those  distinguished  tal- 
ents which  could  be  spared  from  the  field,  elected  him  their 
delegate  to  the  confederated  Congress  of  that  year.  As 
that  body  sat  with  closed  doors,  his  voice  could  not  be  heard 
by  the  public,  but  his  name  appears  oftener  in  the  published 
journals,  than  many  others  of  that  body."     Mr.  Howland 


172  J.    M.    VARNUM. 

continues  to  observe,  "  The  old  Congress  under  the  confed- 
eration, had  no  power  to  raise  money  to  carry  on  the  war, 
either  by  taxes  or  imposts,  and  the  states  had  enough  to  do, 
to  furnish  their  own  treasuries.  Congress,  on  the  3d  of 
February,  1781,  requested  the  several  states  to  grant  them 
power  to  levy  an  impost  of  five  per  cent.,  ad  valorem,  on 
all  imported  goods ;  and  all  prizes  and  prize  goods,  to  be 
appropriated  to  the  discharge  of  principal  and  interest  of 
debts  contracted,  or  to  be  contracted,  on  the  faith  of  the 
United  States,  for  the  support  of  the  war.  This  was  thought 
necessary  to  the  salvation  of  the  country,  and  to  maintain 
our  independence.  The  granting  of  this  power  to  Congress, 
to  raise  a  revenue,  was  a  new  question,  and  divided  the  pol- 
iticians in  its  discussion.  To  place  the  case,  in  its  urgent 
necessity,  before  the  respective  legislatures  of  the  states, 
several  of  the  best  speakers  in  Congress  requested,  or 
thought  proper  to  return  home,  and  persuade  the  people  to 
grant  the  power.  Rufus  King  advocated  it  in  Massachusetts ; 
Dayton  left  his  seat  to  advocate  the  cause  in  New  Jersey; 
and  Varnum  came  to  Rhode  Island  for  the  same  purpose. 
The  states  which  had  little  or  no  maritime  commerce,  readily 
granted  the  power.  This  question  brought  a  new  man  into 
the  field  in  Rhode  Island.  David  Howell,  knowing  the  im- 
porters would  generally  oppose  the  power,  and  that  the 
people  at  large  would  unwillingly  be  deprived  of  a  rich 
source  of  state  revenue,  at  a  crisis  so  distressing,  came  out 
in  the  Providence  Gazette,  and  in  all  public  places,  with 
violent  declamation  against  the  five  per  cent.,  as  it  was 
called.  He  argued,  if  you  once  grant  them  five,  they  will 
soon  take  ten,  then  twenty,  &c.  Gen.  Varnum  vindicated 
the  grant,  in  the  same  paper,  over  the  signature  of  '  Citizen;' 
Howell,  over  that  of  'Farmer,'  knowing  the  majority  of 
every  state  were  farmers.  At  length  the  question  came  be- 
fore the  General  Assembly;  Varnum' s  speech  occupied  the 


J.    M.    VARNUM.  173 

forenoon,  and,  in  strength  of  argument  and  eloquence,  had  not 
been  equalled  since  the  settlement  of  the  state.  Howell  occu- 
pied the  afternoon ;  the  question  was  then  taken,  and  decided 
in  the  negative.  It  was  afterward  ascertained,  that  a  ma- 
jority had  predetermined  and  agreed  not  to  grant  the  power. 
Eleven  of  the  states  granted  the  five  per  cent.  New  York, 
headed  by  George  Clinton,  never  decided  one  way  or  the 
other;  and  Rhode  Island  refused.  So  Congress  was  defeated 
in  the  necessary  source  of  revenue ;  all  the  states  not  con- 
curring in  the  measure. 

After  the  war,  Gen.  Varnum  recommenced  the  practice 
of  law  at  East  Greenwich,  with  increased  reputation,  and 
was  promptly  engaged  in  all  the  important  causes  in  the 
state.  At  that  period  great  and  important  cases  arose, 
growing  out  of  the  new  position  in  which  the  state  and  na- 
tion were  placed.  The  great  case  of  Trevett  vs.  Weeden, 
was  one  which  stirred  the  community  to  its  very  foundations. 
Upon  its  issue  was  involved  the  destiny  of  thousands.  Pub- 
lic feeling  and  anxiety  were  intense  upon  its  result.  The 
period  succeeding  the  Revolution  was  the  most  eventful  in 
our  history.  The  crisis  arose,  and  the  experiment  was  on 
trial,  whether  the  people  were  capable  of  self-government; 
and  upon  its  issue  depended  the  fate  of  the  nation.  The 
country  was  exhausted  by  a  protracted  contest ;  and  disap- 
pointed in  the  expectation  of  sufficient  national  resources, 
to  meet  the  embarrassments  produced  by  it ;  insubordination 
and  misrule  showed  themselves  everywhere.  The  army 
returned  unpaid  and  discontented,  with  certificates  upon  a 
bankrupt  treasury,  instead  of  money,  amidst  a  state  popula- 
tion as  impoverished  as  themselves.  The  state  itself  was 
insolvent,  and  wholly  unable  to  pay  the  bills  of  credit 
against  it.  The  stock  of  the  farmer  was  selling  at  the  auc- 
tion posts,  for  the  payment  of  taxes.  The  old  Congress 
was  as  embarrassed  as  the  states  for  pecuniary  means  to 


174  J.    M.    VAKNUM. 

discharge  their  engagements.  They  made  requisitions  in  con- 
formity to  the  powers  delegated  to  them  under  the  confeder- 
ation :  owing  to  inability  the  states  rejected  them.  The  bills 
which  Congress  had  negotiated  in  Holland  for  the  payment 
of  the  army,  were  unpaid  at  maturity,  and  returned  pro- 
tested :  the  damages  alone  amounting  to  the  startling  sum 
of  six  hundred  and  thirty-six  thousand  dollars.  At  this  act 
of  sovereign  dishonor  and  disgrace  of  the  new  republic,  our 
ambassadors,  Franklin,  Jay,  and  Adams,  were  in  despair. 
Prompted  by  exorbitant  profit,  the  merchants  shipped  to 
Europe,  all  the  remaining  specie  that  could  be  obtained  to 
supply  the  country  with  fabrics,  which  the  war  had  ex- 
hausted. Massachusetts  alone  exported  three  millions  of 
specie  from  the  commencement  of  peace,  to  July,  1785 ;  and 
we  can  only  judge,  by  estimation,  of  the  vast  amount  ex- 
ported from  other  seaports  for  the  same  purposes  :  so  that 
in  a  short  period,  all  the  gold  brought  by  the  French,  and 
the  silver  imported  from  the  Spanish  West  Indies,  was 
drained  from  the  country.  The  avaricious  course  pursued 
by  the  merchants  compelled  the  borrower  to  pay  twenty  per 
cent,  per  annum,  and  some  four  per  cent,  per  month.  Such 
was  the  posture  of  affairs  at  this  momentous  crisis.  The 
confederation  was  powerless.  The  veteran  soldiers,  who 
had  exposed  themselves  to  tempests  and  battles  through  the 
whole  contest,  and  whom  peace  had  dismissed  with  laurels, 
returned  to  their  families,  penniless  and  clamorous.  Neces- 
sity and  distress  showed  themselves  by  insurrections  and 
commotions  in  every  quarter.  If  Shays  had  possessed  cour- 
age equal  to  his  address  and  ability,  he  might  have  marched 
in  triumph  through  the  nation,  gathering  to  his  standard, 
spirits  enough  to  have  insured  him  victory ;  such  was  the 
perilous  condition  of  the  republic.  The  state  threw  itself 
upon  its  reserved  rights ;  and  the  demagogues,  who  could 
best  live  and  flourish  in  turbulent  political  waters,  seizing 


J.    M.    VAIiNUM.  175 

upon  the  agitated  occasion,  roused  the  distressed  of  every 
class  into  a  phrenzy,  and  made  them  believe,  that  Midas-like, 
they  could  touch  paper,  and  convert  it  to  gold.  The  paper- 
money  party-  obtained  an  overwhelming  majority,  and  ex- 
pressly instructed  their  representatives  for  the  purpose ;  and 
in  May,  1786,  emitted  the  enormous  sum  of  one  hundred 
thousand  pounds  in  paper  bills.  It  was  further  enacted,  that 
said  bills  '  should  be  a  good  and  lawful  tender  for  the  com- 
plete payment  and  final  discharge  of  all  fines,  forfeitures, 
judgments,  and  executions,  that  had  become  due  and  re- 
covered, of  every  land  and  nature  whatsoever.'  There  was 
no  time  fixed  when  said  bills  were  to  be  redeemed,  nor  was 
their  ultimate  payment  charged  upon  any  fund,  nor  was  it 
designated  how  they  were  to  be  paid.  They  were  to  be 
loaned  for  fourteen  years  upon  mortgage,  pro  rata,  to  all 
the  people,  at  four  per  cent,  interest  for  the  first  seven  years, 
and  to  be  repaid  in  the  next  seven  years,  in  seven  equal  instal- 
ments, without  interest,  and  then  they  were  'to  be  consumed 
by  fire /'  thus  intending  to  annihilate  the  merchants,  their 
fancied  opponents,  at  a  blow.  These  bills  fell  into  imme- 
diate discredit,  and  those  who  had  property  chose  rather  to 
retain,  than  exchange  it.  They  further  enacted,  that  if  any 
one  refused  to  take  it  in  place  of  specie,  he  should  be  fined 
one  hundred  pounds,  and  stand  disfranchised.  Every  citi- 
zen was  also  to  swear  that  he  would  use  his  endeavors  to 
give  it  currency  equal  to  gold  and  silver,  and  sell  their  prop- 
erty" at  the  same  prices  for  one,  as  the  other  Trials  under 
the  law  could  be  had  at  a  called  court,  and  the  culprit  was 
denied  the  privilege  of  a  jury.  These  curious  movements 
of  the  public  mind  go  to  prove  that  'the  Inquisition'  may 
exist  in  a  republic,  in  civil  affairs,  as  well  as  in  a  Roman 
Catholic  country,  in  matters  of  religion. 

The  paper-money  system  gave  rise  to  a  celebrated  law- 
suit, in  which  Gen.  Varnum  was  engaged,  and  where  he 


17G  J.    M.    V  A  11  NUM. 

displayed  his  eloquence  and  law  knowledge  in  a  masterly 
manner.  John  Trevett,  of  Newport,  bought  meat  of  John 
Weeden,  a  butcher,  in  the  market,  and  tendered  to  him  bills 
of  the  emission  of  May  preceding,  in  payment,  which  Wee- 
den refused.  From  thence  arose  this  trial,  before  a  special 
court,  in  September,  178G.  If  the  complaint  was  sustained 
by  the  judgment  of  the  court,  all  the  commerce  and  busi- 
ness of  the  state  would  be  destroyed,  and  all  previous  obli- 
gations canceled  by  this  irredeemable  trash.  The  whole 
population  were  deeply  interested,  and  gathered,  in  vast 
numbers,  at  the  court-house.  Here  Gen.  Varnum  displayed 
his  vast  powers,  as  an  orator,  in  a  manner  never  developed 
before,  and  came  fully  up  to  Patrick  Henry's  famous  tobacco 
case,  in  exciting  the  applause  and  approbation  of  the 
people.  'The  court  adjudged  the  amended  acts  of  the 
legislature,  unconstitutional,  and  so  void.'  The  fearless  in- 
dependence of  the  bench  overthrew  the  tyrrany  of  the  dem- 
agogues, and  the  state  was  saved.  But  it  was  eulogium 
enough  on  Varnum,  that  the  power  of  these  speeches 
wrought  such  a  triumphant  victory  over  public  opinion,  that 
the  dominant  party,  to  save  themselves  from  political  pros- 
tration, were  compelled  to  repeal  their  arbitrary  and  uncon- 
stitutional acts,  within  sixty  days  from  the  time  of  their 
passage.  Gen.  Varnum  was  not  cold  and  phlegmatic  in  his 
eloquence;  his  temperament  was  naturally  ardent;  and 
when  excited  or  roused  by  the  circumstances  or  events  of 
his  cause,  was  vehement.  None  can  impart  warmth  or  zeal, 
that  have  none  of  their  own ;  and  to  impress  an  assembly 
with  the  truth  or  sanctity  of  our  cause,  we  must  ourselves 
be  convinced  that  it  is  true. 

In  178G,  Gen.  Varnum  was  again  elected  a  representative 
to  the  old  Congress,  and  was  an  efficient  member.  At  the 
same  session,  the  distinguished  William  Samuel  Johnson 
was  also  a  representative  from  Connecticut;  an  intimacy 


J.M.VARNUM.  177 

was  contracted  between  them,  which  continued  during  their 
lives.  This  circumstance  is  mentioned  to  show  why  Dr. 
Johnson  spoke  of  Gen.  Varnum,  in  the  case  of  Smith,  of 
Connecticut,  against  John  Brown,  of  Providence,  in  such 
favorable  terms.  It  was  a  prize  cause,  of  magnitude,  and 
from  the  parties  concerned,  and  the  eminence  of  the  counsel 
engaged,  it  excited  unusual  interest.  It  was  tried  before 
Judge  Foster,  judge  of  the  State  Admiralty  Court  at  Kings- 
town. Jesse  Root,  afterward  chief  justice  of  the  Supreme 
Court  of  Connecticut,  and  compiler  of  Root's  reports,  opened 
the  case  in  behalf  of  Smith,  and  William  Channing,  attor- 
ney-general of  Rhode  Island,  and  Gen.  Varnum  conducted 
the  defense  in  behalf  of  Brown,  and  the  distinguished  jurist 
and  Christian,  Dr.  Johnson,  of  Stratford,  closed  for  the  claim- 
ant. From  the  splendor  of  the  talents  of  counsel,  unusual 
attention  was  attracted  to  the  scene.  The  neat,  concise,  and 
clear  openings  by  Root  and  Channing,  the  brilliant  language 
and  thundering  eloquence  of  Varnum,  and  the  calm,  placid, 
unostentatious  and  classical  oratory  of  Johnson,  furnished 
a  legal  and  intellectual  banquet,  such  as  was  never  seen 
before,  and  probably  never  since,  in  Rhode  Island.  To  sus- 
tain himself  against  such  power,  was  victory  enough ;  but 
Varnum  did  more ;  he  not  only  sustained  the  high  expecta- 
tions of  his  friends,  and  the  reputation  of  the  Rhode  Island 
bar,  but  drove  his  adversaries  finally  to  a  nonsuit.  Dr. 
Johnson,  whose  heart  was  too  magnanimous  for  envy,  be- 
side paying  to  Gen.  Varnum,  merited  compliments  in  the 
close,  stated,  at  a  party  in  the  evening,  'That  he  knew  Gen. 
Varnum  in  Congress,  and  that  he  was  a  man  of  uncommon 
talents,  and  of  the  most  brilliant  eloquence.'  We  feel  as- 
sured that  he  was  justly  entitled  to  this  eulogium,  or  Dr. 
Johnson  would  not  have  given  it.  The  following  is  a  de- 
scription of  the  person  and  dress  of  Gen.  Varnum  at  the 
bar :  It   was   the  fashion  of  that  day   to  be  very  well,  or 


178  J.    M.    VARNUM. 

rather  elegantly  dressed.  '  Gen.  Varnum  appeared  with  a 
brick-colored  coat,  trimmed  with  gold  lace;  buckskin  small 
clothes,  with  gold  lace  bands;  silk  stockings,  and  boots;  a 
high,  delicate,  and  white  forehead;  eyes  prominent,  and  of 
a  dark  hue ;  his  complexion  rather  florid ;  somewhat  corpu- 
lent; well  proportioned,  and  finely  formed  for  strength  and 
agility;  large  eyebrows;  nose  straight,  and  rather  broad; 
teeth  perfectly  white ;  a  profuse  head  of  hair,  short  on  the 
forehead,  turned  up  some,  and  deeply  powdered  and 
clubbed.  When  he  took  off  his  cocked  hat,  he  would  lightly 
brush  up  his  hair  forward,  and  with  a  fascinating  smile 
lighting  up  his  countenance,  take  his  seat  in  court.'  This 
was  the  last  great  effort  of  Gen.  Varnum  in  Rhode  Island. 
At  what  precise  time  this  trial  took  place,  cannot  now  be 
ascertained,  as  no  record  of  that  court  can  be  found.  That 
it  was  after  the  confederated  Congress  of  1787,  is  presuma- 
ble; becauss  he  spoke  of  their  intimacy  while  in  Congress 
together;  and  Dr.  Johnson  and  Gen.  Varnum  were  not  both 
members  of  the  same  Congress  before  that  period. 

Gen.  Varnum  was  a  warm  and  unwavering  advocate  for 
a  federal  constitution ;  he  knew  the  inefficiency  of  the  con- 
federation, and  also  the  selfish  considerations  that  governed 
the  states.  If  an  instrument  cementing  the  Union,  was  not 
speedily  adopted,  he  '  felt  that  future  efforts  would  be  una- 
vailing.' The  legal  profession,  with  Gen.  Varnum  at  their 
head,  the  mercantile,  and  the  sound  portion  of  the  agricul- 
tural interests,  urged  the  Legislature  of  Rhode  Island,  at 
their  June  session,  1787,  in  the  strongest  terms,  to  send  del- 
egates to  the  federal  convention,  assembled  at  Philadelphia. 
But  the  advocates  of  the  paper-money  system,  and  the  rev- 
enue accruing  to  the  state  from  imposts,  Rhode  Island  being 
then  the  second  or  third  importing  state,  defeated  the  meas- 
ure. The  minority  in  the  Legislature,  and  those  friendly  to 
the  feueral  constitution,  addressed  the  convention  on  the 


J.   M.    VARNUM.  179 

subject,  and  inclosed  it  to  Gen.  Varnum,  to  be  delivered  to 
that  body." 

Early  in  the  year  1787,  the  Ohio  Land  Company  was  or- 
ganized in  Boston ;  it  was  originated  by  the  disbanded  offi- 
cers of  the  late  army,  many  of  whom  were  stockholders, 
while  the  larger  portion  was  made  up  from  the  citizens  at 
large.  The  ordinance  of  Congress,  establishing  the  North- 
west Territory,  was  passed  the  13th  of  July,  1787;  in  August 
of  that  year,  Gen.  Varnum  was  appointed  one  of  the  direc- 
tors of  the  Ohio  Company.  In  September,  Gen.  Arthur 
St.  Clair  was  appointed  governor  of  the  new  territory,  and, 
in  October  following,  Gen.  Varnum,  Samuel  H.  Parsons, 
and  John  Cleves  Symmes,  judges  of  the  Supreme  Court. 
He  left  his  home  in  Rhode  Island  in  the  spring  of  1788,  on 
his  route  to  the  Northwest  Territory,  by  the  way  of  Balti- 
more, and  arrived  at  Marietta  early  in  June.  Gen.  Parsons 
was  there  on  the  26th  of  May;  Gov.  St.  Clair  arrived  on 
the  9th  of  July,  at  Fort  Harmer,  under  the  escort  of  Maj. 
Doughty,  who  went  up  with  the  garrison  barge  and  a  party 
of  soldiers  to  meet  him  at  Fort  Mcintosh.  On  the  4th  of 
July,  the  American  independence  was  celebrated  at  Ma- 
rietta, by  the  citizens,  and  the  officers  of  Fort  Harmer,  in  a 
long  bowery  built  near  the  upper  point  at  the  mouth  of  the 
Muskingum.  Gen.  Varnum  was  invited  to  deliver  an  ora- 
tion, which  was  done  with  his  usual  eloquence.  "The  ora- 
tion is  short,  but  contains  many  beauties  both  in  sentiment 
and  language."  "It  was  published  at  Newport  in  the  same 
year,  by  order  of  the  directors  and  agents  of  the  Ohio  Land 
Company,  to  which  is  annexed  the  speech  of  Gov.  St.  Clair, 
and  proceedings  of  the  inhabitants."  A  copy  of  the 
speeches  is  attached  to  the  appendix  of  this  volume. 

His  health  was  poor  when  he  arrived  at  Marietta,  having 
for  some  time  been  threatened  with  a  lung  complaint.  The 
long  journey  and  change  of  climate,  no  doubt  led  him  to 


180  J.     M.    VARNUM. 

expect  would  effect  a  favorable  change  in  his  disease ;  but  his 
health  gradually  declined  after  his  arrival,  so  that  by  the  set- 
ting in  of  cold  weather,  he  was  quite  feeble,  and  evidently  in 
a  deep  consumption.  During  the  summer  and  autumn  he  was 
able  to  attend  to  the  duties  of  a  director  in  the  meetings  of 
that  board,  and  no  doubt  his  fine  taste  for  the  beautiful 
was  exerted  in  promoting  the  resolution  for  the  preservation 
of  those  ancient  remains  erected  on  the  present  site  of  Ma- 
rietta, as  memorials  of  that  departed  race  of  men  who  once 
inhabited  the  valley  of  the  Ohio.  He  also  had  made  prepara- 
tion for  opening  a  farm ;  and  a  clearing  of  several  acres, 
made  by  him,  a  mile  or  two  east  of  the  town,  was,  for  many 
years,  known  by  the  name  of  Varnum's  clearing,  and  now  oc- 
cupies the  center  of  one  of  the  finest  farms  in  this  vicinity. 
He  assisted  Gov.  St.  Clair  and  Gen.  Parsons  in  forming  a 
code  of  laws  for  the  government  of  the  Northwest  Territory, 
twenty-six  of  which  were  promulgated  during  his  life ;  the 
last  of  them  being  signed  on  the  21st  of  December.  About 
this  time  he  addressed  the  following  letter  to  his  wife.  It  is 
written  with  that  entire  truth,  honesty,  and  deep  sensibility, 
which  all  more  or  less  feel  at  the  approach  of  death;  but 
which  few  have  the  ability  to  express  in  such  fervent  and 
beautiful  language.  It  was  published  in  1791,  in  the  Amer- 
ican Magazine,  as  a  fine  specimen  of  elegant  composition ; 
but  is  now  copied  from  his  life,  as  a  memorial  of  the  heart 
and  soul  of  Gen.  Varnum. 

''My  dearest  and  most  estimable  friend:  I  now  address 
you  from  my  sick  chamber,  and  perhaps  it  will  be  the  last 
letter  that  you  will  receive  from  me.  My  lungs  are  so 
far  affected  that  it  is  impossible  for  me  to  recover,  but  by 
exchange  of  air  and  a  warm  climate.  I  expect  to  leave 
this  place  on  Sunday  or  Monday  next  for  the  falls  of  Ohio. 
If  I  feel  myself  mend  by  the  tour,  I  shall  go  no  farther;  but  if 
not,  and  my  strength  should  continue,  I  expect  to  proceed  to 


J.     M.     VARNUM.  181 

New  Orleans,  and  from  thence,  by  the  West  Indies,  to  Rhode 
Island.  My  physicians,  most  of  them,  think  the  chances  of 
recovery  in  my  favor;  however,  I  am  neither  elevated  nor  de- 
pressed by  the  force  of  opinion,  but  shall  meet  my  fate  with 
humility  and  fortitude.  I  cannot,  however,  but  indulge  the 
hope  that  I  shall  again  embrace  my  lovely  friend  in  this 
world;  and  that  we  may  glide  smoothly  down  the  tide  of 
time  for  a  few  years,  and  enjoy  together  the  more  substan- 
tial happiness  and  satisfaction,  as  we  have  already  the  de- 
sirable pleasures  of  life.  It  is  now  almost  nineteen  years, 
since  Heaven  connected  us  by  the  tenderest  and  the  most 
sacred  of  ties ;  and  it  is  the  same  length  of  time  that  our 
friendship  hath  been  increased  by  every  rational  and  en- 
dearing motive ;  it  is  now  stronger  than  death,  and  I  am 
firmly  persuaded  will  follow  us  into  an  existence  of  never- 
ending  felicity.  But  my  lovely  friend,  the  gloomy  moment 
will  arrive  when  we  must  part;  and  should  it  arrive  during 
our  present  separation,  my  last  and  only  reluctant  thoughts 
will  be  employed  about  my  dearest  Martha.  Life,  my  dear- 
est friend,  is  but  a  bubble ;  it  soon  bursts,  and  is  remitted 
to  eternity.  When  we  look  back  to  the  earliest  recollections 
of  our  youthful  hours,  it  seems  but  the  last  period  of  our 
rest,  and  we  appear  to  emerge  from  a  night  of  slumbers,  to 
look  forward  to  real  existence.  When  we  look  forward, 
time  appears  as  indeterminate  as  eternity,  and  we  have  no 
idea  of  its  termination,  but  by  the  period  of  our  dissolution. 
What  particular  relation  it  bears  to  a  future  state,  our  gen- 
eral notions  of  religion  cannot  point  out ;  we  feel  something 
constantly  active  within  us,  that  is  evidently  beyond  the 
reach  of  mortality ;  but  whether  it  is  a  part  of  ourselves,  or 
an  emanation  from  the  pure  Source  of  existence,  or  re-ab- 
sorbed when  death  shall  have  finished  his  work,  human  wis- 
dom cannot  determine.  Whether  the  demolition  of  the 
body  introduces  only  a  change  in  the  manner  of  our  being, 


182  J.    M.    VARNUM. 

or  leaves  it  to  progress  infinitely,  alternately  elevated  and 
depressed,  according  to  the  propriety  of  our  conduct,  or 
whether  we  return  to  the  common  mass  of  unthinking  mat- 
ter, philosophy  hesitates  to  decide.     I  know,  therefore,  but 
one  source  from  whence  can  be  derived  complete  consola- 
tion in  a  dying  hour,  and  that  is  the  divine  system  contained 
In  the  gospel  of  Jesus  Christ.     There,  life  and  immortality 
are  brought  to  light;  there,  we  are  taught  our  existence  is  to 
be  eternal,  and,  secure  in  an  interest  in  the  atoning  merits 
of  a  bleeding  Savior,  that  we  shall  be  inconceivably  happy. 
A  firm  and  unshaken  faith  in  this   doctrine,  must  raise  us 
above  the  doubts  and  fears  that  hang  upon  every  other  sys- 
tem, and  enable  us  to  view  with  a  calm  serenity,  the  ap- 
proach of  the  king  of  terrors,  and  to  behold  him  as  a  kind 
and  indulgent  friend,  speeding  his  shafts   only  to  carry  us, 
the  sooner,  to  our  everlasting  home.     But  should  there  be  a 
more  extensive  religion  beyond  the  vail,  and  without  the 
reach  of  mortal  observation,  the  Christian  religion  is  by  no 
means  skaken  thereby,  as  it  is  not  opposed  to  any  principle 
that  admits  of  the  perfect  benevolence  of  the  Deity.     My 
only  doubt  is,  whether  the  punishment  threatened  in  the 
New  Testament,  is  annexed  to  a  state  of  unbelief,  which 
may  be  removed  hereafter,  and  so  a  restoration  take  place; 
or  whether  the  state  of  the  mind  at  death,  irretrievably  fixes 
its  doom  forever.     I  hope  and  pray  that  the  divine  Spirit 
will  give  me  such  assurances  of  an  acceptance  with  God, 
through  the  merits  and  sufferings  of  his  Son,  as  to  brighten 
tlit1  way  to  immediate  happiness.     Dry  up  your  tears,  my 
charming  mourner,  nor  sutler  this  letter  to  give  too  much 
inquietude.     Consider  the  facts  at  present  as  in  theory;  but 
the  sentiments  such  as  will  apply  whenever  the  change  shall 
come.     I  know  that  humanity  must  and  will  be  indulged  in 
its  keenest  griefs,  but  there  is  no  advantage   in  too  deeply 
anticipating  our  inevitable  sorrows.     If  I  did  not  persuade 


J.M.VARNUM.  183 

myself  that  you  would  conduct  with  becoming  prudence 
and  fortitude,  upon  this  occasion,  my  own  unhappiness 
would  be  greatly  increased,  and  perhaps  my  disorder  too ; 
but  I  have  so  much  confidence  in  your  discretion,  as  to  un- 
bosom my  inmost  soul.  You  must  not  expect  to  hear  from 
me  again,  until  the  coming  spring,  as  the  river  will  soon  be 
shut  up  with  ice,  and  there  will  be  no  communication  from 
below  ;  and  if  in  a  situation  for  the  purpose,  I  will  return  as 
soon  as  practicable.  Give  my  sincerest  love  to  all  those  you 
hold  dear;  I  hope  to  see  them  again,  and  love  them  more 
than  ever.  Adieu,  my  dearest  friend;  and  while  I  fervently 
devote,  in  one  undivided  prayer,  our  immortal  souls  to  the 
care,  forgiveness,  mercy,  and  all-prevailing  grace  of  Heaven 
in  time,  and  through  eternity,  I  must  bid  you  a  long,  long, 
long  farewell.  James  M.  Varnum." 

His  fast  declining  health,  and  the  rapid  approach  of  win- 
ter, prevented  his  making  the  attempt  to  remove  to  a  warmer 
climate.  It  was  fortunate  he  did  not,  as  he  would  have  died 
amongst  strangers,  with  no  one  on  whom  he  could  lean  in 
his  last  moments ;  while  in  Marietta  he  was  surrounded 
with  warm  and  devoted  friends  who  did  all  in  their  power 
to  alleviate  his  sufferings  and  make  his  final  passage  as 
easy  as  mortality  will  allow.  He  died  on  the  10th  of  Janu- 
ary, 1789,  the  day  after  the  signing  of  the  treaty  with  the 
Indians  at  Fort  Harmer,  which  accounts  for  the  attendance 
of  the  chiefs  at  his  burial,  and  in  less  than  eight  months 
after  his  arrival.  The  funeral  took  place  on  the  13th,  and 
was  attended  with  all  the  ceremony  and  respect  due  to  so 
distinguished  a  person.  On  this  occasion  Dr.  Drowne  from 
Rhode  Island,  delivered  a  funeral  oration,  a  copy  of  which 
is  attached  to  the  appendix.* 

*  The  following  order  of  procession  is  copied  from  the  original  manuscript,  in  the 
handwriting  of  Winthrop  Sargeant,  secretary  of  the  territory,  and  found  among  the 
papers  of  Griffin  Greene,  in  1846. 


184  J.    M.    VARNUM. 

"Early  in  life  Gen.  Varnum  married  Martha,  the  eldest 
daughter  of  Cromwell  Childe,  of  Warren,  in  Rhode  Island, 
a  family  of  veiy  considerable  distinction.  Mrs.  Varnum 
was  an  amiable,  virtuous,  and  high  minded  lady,  and  one 
of  the  most  cheerful,  sociable,  and  best  of  wives.  She  sur- 
vived her  husband  forty-eight  years,  and  died  at  Bristol, 
without  issue,  October  10th,  1837,  at  the  advanced  age  of 
eighty-eight  years. 

The  career  of  Gen.  Varnum  was  active,  but  brief.  He 
graduated  at  twenty;  was  admitted  to  the  bar  at  twenty-two ; 
entered  the  army  at  twenty-seven ;  resigned  his  commission 
at  thirty-one;  was  member  of  Congress  the  same  year;  re- 
sumed practice  at  thirty-three,  and  continued  four  years, 

ORDER  OF  PROCESSION. 
The  Military. 
Marshals.  Marshals. 

Mr.  Wheaton,  bearing  the  sword  and     Mr.  Lord,  bearing  the  civil  commission 
military  commission  of  the  deceased  on         on  a  mourning  cushion. 
a  mourning  cushion.  Mr.   Fearing,  bearing   the  insignia  of 

Mr.  Mayo,  with  the  diploma  and  order        masonry  on  a  mourning  cushion, 
of  Cincinnati  on  a  mourning  cushion. 


Pall-holders. 
Griffin  Green,  Esq., 
Judge  Tupper, 
The  Secretary. 


Pall-holders. 
Judge  Crary, 
Judge  Putnam. 
Jud";e  Parsons. 


Private  Mourners. 
Charles  Greene  and  Richard  Greene. 
Frederick  Crary  and  Philip  Greene. 

Doctor  Scott  and  Doctor  Farley. 
Deacon  Story  and  Doctor  Drowne. 
Private  citizens,  two  and  two. 
Indian  chiefs,  two  and  two. 
The  militia  officers. 
Officers  of  the  garrison  at  Fort  Harmer. 
The  civil  officers. 
The  Cincinnati. 
The  Masons. 
Messrs.  Clark  and  Leech,  Mr.  Stratton  and  Mr.  Balch,  were  requested  to  super- 
intend the  order  of  the  procession.     In  returning  from  the  grave  the  order  was  the 
same,  preceded  by  the  military  under  Capt.  Zeigler. 


J.    M.    VARNUM.  185 

was  elected  to  Congress  again  at  thirty-seven;  emigrated 
to  the  west  at  thirty-nine,  and  died  at  the  early  age  of 
forty.  From  what  researches  have  been  made,  it  conscien- 
tiously can  be  stated  that  he  was  a  man  of  boundless  zeal, 
of  warm  feelings,  of  great  honesty,  of  singular  disinterest- 
edness; and,  as  to  talents,  of  prodigal  imagination,  a  dex- 
trous reasoner,  and  a  splendid  orator.  He  was  a  man  made 
on  a  gigantic  scale ;  his  very  defects  were  masculine  and 
powerful,  '  and,  we  shall  not  soon  look  upon  his  like 
again.' " 


SAMUEL    IIOLDEN    PARSONS. 

BY    HIS   GRANDSON,   S.    II.    PARSONS,   ESQ.,   OF    HARTFORD,   CONN. 

Maj.  Gen.  Samuel  IIolden  Parsons  was  born  at  Lyme, 
in  the  county  of  New  London,  and  state  of  Connecti- 
cut, May  14th,  1737,  and  was  the  third  son  of  the  Rev. 
Jonathan  Parsons,  a  distinguished  clergyman,  who  removed 
from  Lyme  to  Newburyport,  Mass.,  in  1746.  His  mother 
was  the  sister  of  Gov.  Matthew  Griswold,  of  Lyme,  lineally 
descended  from  Henry  Wolcot,  of  Windsor,  the  ancestor  of 
all  of  that  eminent  name  in  Connecticut. 

He  graduated  at  Harvard  College,  in  1756;  and  after 
completing  his  professional  studies  in  the  office  of  his  uncle, 
Gov.  Matthew  Griswold,  he  was  admitted  to  the  bar  of  New 
London  county,  in  February,  1759,  and  settled  at  Lyme  in 
the  practice  of  law.  [Note  A.]  In  September,  1761,  he 
married  the  daughter  of  Richard  Mather,  of  Lyme,  a 
lineal  descendant  of  the  Rev.  Richard  Mather,  who  was 
born  in  Lawton,  Lancaster  county,  England,  1596,  and  set- 
tled as  the  first  clergyman  of  Dorchester,  Mass.,  Aug.  23, 
1636,  where  he  died,  April  22d,  1669.  In  1762,  at  the  age 
of  twenty-five,  he  was  elected  a  member  of  the  General 
Assembly  of  the  colony  of  Connecticut,  and  was  succes- 
sively re-elected  until  his  removal  to  New  London  in  1774. 
During  this  period  he  received  repeated  proofs  of  public 
confidence  in  various  appointments  of  honor  and  trust. 

In  May,  1768,  he  was  appointed  by  the  General  Assembly, 
auditor,  "  to  settle  and  adjust  the  colony  accounts  with  the 
treasurer  and  all  others  who  have  received  any  of  the  moneys 
that  belong  to  the  colony."    In  1769,  the  same  appointment 


S.    H.    PARSONS.  187 

was  continued,  with  "  further  powers  to  renew,  and  better 
secure  the  moneys  and  estate  due  on  mortgages,  bonds,  or 
other  securities,  belonging  to  this  colony,  which  are  in  dan- 
ger of  being  lost." 

In  October,  1773,  under  an  act  of  the  general  court, "  con- 
cerning the  western  lands,  so-called,  lying  westward  of  Del- 
aware river,  within  the  boundaries  of  this  colony,"  he  was 
appointed  and  associated  with  the  Hon.  Matthew  Gris- 
wold,  Eliphalet  Dyer,  Roger  Sherman,  Wm.  Samuel  John- 
son, Silas  Dean,  Wm.  Williams,  and  Jedediah  Strong,  Esqrs., 
a  committee  with  full  power  to  assist  his  honor,  Gov.  Trum- 
bull, in  stating  and  taking  "  proper  steps  to  pursue  the  claim 
of  the  colony  of  Connecticut  to  said  western  lands  ;  and  any 
three  of  said  committee  were  authorized  and  directed  to 
proceed  to  Philadelphia  to  wait  on  his  honor,  Gov.  Penn,  in 
the  subject,  and  to  treat  with  Gov.  Penn  and  the  agent  or 
agents  of  the  proprietaries  of  Pennsylvania,  respecting  an 
amicable  agreement  between  the  colony  and  the  aforesaid 
proprietaries  concerning  the  boundaries  of  this  colony 
and  the  province  of  Pennsylvania,  to  agree  upon  and  as- 
certain the  boundaries  between  this  colony,  and  the  claim 
of  said  proprietaries,  and  such  agreement  to  lay  before 
the  General  Assembly  for  confirmation  :  but  if  said  pro- 
prietaries shall  prefer  joining  in  an  application  to  his 
majesty  for  commissioners  to  settle  said  line,  then  the 
said  committee  are  directed  to  join  in  behalf  of  the  colony 
in  such  application.  The  committee  were  likewise  empow- 
ered to  treat  with  said  Gov.  Penn  with  respect  to  the  peace 
of  the  inhabitants  who  are  settled  upon  said  lands,  and  to 
agree  upon  such  measures  as  shall  tend  to  preserve  good 
order,  and  to  prevent  mutual  violence  and  contention  while 
the  boundaries  between  this  colony  and  the  said  province 
shall  remain  undisturbed."  In  January,  1774,  the  same 
committee  were  "  appointed  and  empowered  to  assist  his 


188  S.    H.    PARSONS. 

honor,  Gov.  Trumbull,  in  collecting  and  preparing  all  ex- 
hibits and  documents  necessary  to  pursue  and  prosecute  the 
claim  and  title  of  the  colony  to  the  lands  lying  within  the 
boundaries  of  the  grant  and  charter  of  the  colony  west  of 
the  Delaware  river,  at  the  court  of  Great  Britain,  and  to 
make  a  proper  statement  of  said  cause,  to  be  transmitted  to 
Great  Britain  for  that  purpose  ;  and  to  report  to  the  General 
Assembly,  from  time  to  time,  of  their  proceedings  thereon." 
Mr.  Parsons  was  an  active  member  of  this  committee,  and 
contributed  materially  by  his  abilities  and  unwearied  dili- 
gence in  promoting  the  important  object  of  the  appointment. 
In  May,  1773,  he  was  appointed  by  the  House  of  Repre- 
sentatives of  the  Connecticut  colony,  one  of  the  "  Standing 
Committee  of  Correspondence  and  Inquiry,  to  obtain  all  such 
intelligence,  and  to  take  up  and  maintain  a  correspondence 
with  our  sister  colonies  respecting  the  important  considera- 
tions mentioned  and  expressed  in  certain  resolutions  of  the 
patriotic  House  of  Burgesses  of  Virginia  in  March  last. 
[Note  B.]  Mr.  Parsons  was  an  energetic  member  of  this 
committee,  and  entered  zealously  into  the  cause  of  the  col- 
onies. He  had  previously  corresponded  on  these  subjects 
with  the  prominent  leaders  of  the  sister  colony  of  Massa- 
chusetts. Among  the  number  was  the  eminent  patriot, 
Samuel  Adams,  who,  says  his  biographer,  (American  Quar- 
terly Register,  February,  1841,  p.  2,)  originated  the  sugges- 
tion of  assembling  the  first  Congress,  which  subsequently 
met  at  New  York — an  act  which  led,  at  a  later  period,  to 
the  continental  Congress,  to  the  confederation,  and  that 
great  chain  of  events  connected  with  the  war  of  independ- 
ence. "The  writer  of  the  preceding  paragraph  was  not 
probably  aware  that  among  the  manuscripts  of  Samuel 
Adams,  (in  the  possession  of  Hon.  Mr.  Bancroft.)  an  orig- 
inal letter  exists,  written  March  3d,  1773,  by  Samuel  Holden 
Parsons  to  Mr.  Adams,  originating  the  suggestion  above 


S.    H.    PARSONS.  189 

stated,  the  honor  of  which  has  been  heretofore  attributed  to 
Mr.  Adams-a  letter  so  full  of  fervent  patriotism  it  may  not 
be  amiss  to  insert  entire,  as  follows: 

"Sir:  When  the  spirit  of  patriotism  seems  expiring  in 
America  in  general,  it  must  afford  a  very  sensible  pleasure 
to  the  friends  of  American  liberty  to  see  the  noble  efforts 
of  our  Boston  friends  in  the  support  of  the  rights  of  America, 
as  well  as  their  unshaken  resolution  in  opposing  any,  the 
least  invasion  of  their  charter  privileges.  I  was  called  to 
my  father's  on  a  very  melancholy  occasion,  and  designed  to 
have  seen  you  before  my  return,  but  some  unforeseen  diffi- 
culties prevented.  I  therefore  take  the  liberty  to  propose  to 
your  consideration  whether  it  would  not  be  advisable  in  the 
present  critical  situation  of  the  colonies,  to  revive  an  insti- 
tution which  had  formerly  a  very  salutary  effect —  I  mean 
an  annual  meeting  of  commissioners  from  the  colonies  to  consult 
on  their  general  welfare.  You  may  recollect  this  took  place 
about  the  year  1636,  and  was  continued  to  1684,  between 
the  united  colonies  of  New  England.  Although  they  had 
no  decisive  authority  of  themselves,  yet  here  everything  was 
concerted  which  will  be  easily  suggested  to  your  mind.  If  we 
were  to  take  our  connection  with  Great  Britain  into  consid- 
eration, it  would  render  the  measure  convenient,  as  at  pres- 
ent our  state  of  independence  on  one  another  is  attended 
with  very  manifest  inconvenience.  I  have  time  only  to  sug- 
gest the  thought  to  you,  who  I  know  can  improve  more  on  the 
subject  than  is  in  my  power,  had  I  time.  The  idea  of  in- 
alienable allegiance  to  any  prince  or  state,  is  an  idea  to  me 
inadmissible;  and  I  cannot  see  but  that  our  ancestors,  when 
they  first  landed  in  America,  were  as  independent  of  the 
crown  or  king  of  Great  Britain,  as  if  they  never  had  been 
his  subjects;  and  the  only  rightful  authority  derived  to  him 
over  this  people,  was  by  explicit  covenant  contained  in  the 


190  S.    H.    PARSONS. 

first  charters.     These  are  but  broken  hints  of  sentiments 
I  wish  I  was  at  liberty  more  fully  to  explain. 
I  am,  sir,  in  haste,  with  esteem, 

your  most  obedient  servant, 

Sam.  H.  Parsons. 

To  Mr.  Samuel  Adams,  in  Boston. 
Forwarded  by  Mr.  Howe." 

In  November,  1773,  he  was  appointed  "king's  attorney 
for  New  London  county,"  and  in  May,  1774,  was  also  ap- 
pointed by  the  General  Assembly,  "  agent  for  the  governor 
and  company  of  the  colony,  to  receive,  sue  for,  and  recover,  all 
such  debts  or  demands  as  were  due  to  the  governor  and 
company  of  the  colony,  on  bonds,  notes  of  hand,  or  mort- 
gages, deeds,  from  persons  residing  in  the  county  of  New 
London ;  as  also  to  sue  for  and  recover  the  possession  of  all 
such  lands  within  said  county  of  New  London,  that  belonged 
to  said  governor  and  company  and  detained  from  them,  with 
full  power  to  appear  before  any  court  or  courts  of  judicature, 
and  represent  said  governor  and  company  for  the  purpose 
aforesaid.  All  these  duties  were  faithfully  and  satisfactorily 
performed.  The  limits  of  this  brief  sketch  will  just  permit 
a  detailed  view  of  his  arduous  labors  as  a  member  of  the 
committee  of  correspondence. 

The  following  letter,  addressed  to  the  committee  of  Bos- 
ton, on  the  17th  of  May,  1774,  (original  among  the  manu- 
scripts of  Samuel  Adams,)  evinces  an  eagle-eyed  vigilance, 
and  a  fixed,  determined  spirit  of  resistance  to  oppression, 
and  a  bold,  daring  patriotism,  peculiar  to  the  times  that 
tried  men's  souls. 

'  Hartford,  May  17,  1774. 

Gentlemen  :  This  moment  a  post  from  New  York  arrived 
here,  on  his  road  to  Boston,  with  intelligence  of  the  spirit 
and  firmness  with  which  the  inhabitants  of  that  city  concur 


S.    H.    PARSONS.  191 

with  the  friends  of  America,  in  support  of  the  cause  of  our 
country :  we  cannot  suffer  him  to  pass,  without  informing 
you,  who  immediately  feel  the  effects  of  ministerial  despot- 
ism, that  the  American  cause,  the  state  of  the  town  of  Bos- 
ton in  particular,  and  the  effect  and  operation  of  the  late 
detestable  act  of  an  abandoned  venal  Parliament,  were  this 
day  brought  before  our  House  of  Assembly  for  considera- 
tion ;  and,  on  discussing  the  matter,  there  is  no  reason  to 
doubt  a  hearty,  spirited  concurrence  of  our  Assembly  in 
every  proper  measure  for  redress  of  our  wrongs.  A  com- 
mittee is  appointed  to  report  proper  measures  to  be  pursued, 
and  make  drafts  for  the  declaration  of  our  rights,  &c,  which 
will  probably  be  reported  and  passed  this  week;  a  copy  of 
which  will  be  transmitted  as  soon  as  possible.  We  consider 
the  cause  the  common  cause  of  all  the  colonies,  and  doubt 
not  the  concurrence  of  all  to  defend  and  support  you.  Let 
us  play  the  man  for  the  cause  of  our  country,  and  trust  the 
event  to  Him  who  orders  all  events  for  the  best  good  of  his 
people.  We  should  not  have  written  you  at  this  time,  and 
when  no  more  of  our  committee  are  present,  but  that  your 
distressed  condition  requires  the  aid  of  every  friend  for  your 
relief.  We  cannot  be  warranted  in  having  this  made  pub- 
lic, as  from  our  committee,  there  not  being  a  quorum  present, 
but  you  are  at  liberty  to  use  it,  as  from  us  personally,  if  it 
can,  in  the  least,  tend  to  strengthen  the  hands  and  encour- 
age the  hearts  of  those  in  distress. 

We  are,  gentlemen,  (the  post  waiting,)  your  friends  and 
countrymen,  the  Committee  of  Correspondence  at  Hartford. 

Samuel  H.  Parsons. 
Nathaniel  Walis,  Jr. 

To  the  Committee  of  Correspondence,  at  Boston." 

[Superscribed  to  Samuel  Adams,  Boston.] 

By  a  resolution  of  the  House  of  Representatives  of  the 
colony  of  Connecticut,  passed  June  3d,  1774,  the  Committee 


192  S.    II.    PARSONS. 

of  Correspondence  were  empowered,  on  application  to  them 
made,  or  from  time  to  time,  as  might  be  found  necessary,  to 
appoint  a  suitable  number  to  attend  a  congress,  or  conven- 
tion of  commissioners,  or  committee  of  the  several  colonies, 
in  Boston,  America,  to  consult  and  advise  on  proper  mea- 
sures for  advancing  the  best  good  of  the  colonies ;  and  such 
conferences,  from  time  to  time,  to  report  to  the  House  of 
Representatives.  [NoteC]  In  pursuance  of  the  above  reso- 
lution, the  Committee  of  Correspondence  met  on  the  13th  of 
July,  1774,  at  New  London,  and  nominated  the  Hon.  Eli- 
phalet  Dyer,  the  Hon.  Wm,  Samuel  Johnson,  Erastus  Wol- 
cot,  Silas  Dean,  and  Richard  Law,  Esqs.,  either  three  of 
whom  were  authorized  and  empowered,  in  behalf  of  the 
colony,  to  attend  the  General  Congress  of  the  colonies,  pro- 
posed to  be  held  at  Philadelphia,  the  first  day  of  September. 
Three  of  the  above-named  gentlemen,  viz. :  Messrs.  John- 
son, Wolcot,  and  Law,  by  reason  of  previous  engagements 
and  the  state  of  their  health,  declined  the  nomination.  The 
committee  met  at  Hartford,  the  ensuing  month  of  August, 
[Note  D,]  and  nominated,  in  their  place,  the  Hon.  Roger 
Sherman  and  Joseph  Trumbull.  The  first-named  gentle- 
man, with  the  Hon.  Eliphalet  Dyer,  and  Silas  Dean,  Esq., 
represented  the  colony  of  Connecticut  in  the  first  Congress, 
assembled  at  Carpenter's  Hall,  Philadelphia,  September  5th, 
1775. 

The  passing  of  the  above  resolution  was  immediately 
communicated,  by  the  Committee  of  Correspondence,  to  the 
committee  at  Boston  and  the  House  of  Representatives  of 
Massachusetts;  they,  therefore,  on  the  17th  of  June,  adopted 
a  similar  resolution,  upon  the  motion  of  Samuel  Adams. 
[Note  E.]  To  the  colony  of  Connecticut,  therefore,  belongs 
the  honor,  (heretofore  claimed  by  Massachusetts,)  of  first 
suggesting,  and  first  acting  upon  the  important  subject  of  the 
first  National  Congress  of  the  American  colonies.    The  first 


S.    H.    PARSONS.  193 

suggestion  having  been  made  by  Mr.  Parsons,  in  his  letter  to 
-Mr.  Samuel  Adams,  March,  1773,  and  the  first  action  taken 
by  the   Connecticut  Legislature,  June  3d,  1774,  of  which 
Legislature  Mr.  Parsons  was  a  prominent  member. 

Believing  that  the  possession  of  Ticonderoga  and  Crown 
Point,  and  the  consequent  command  of  lakes  George  and 
Champlain,  were  objects  of  essential  importance  in  the  ap- 
proaching conflict,  Mr.   Parsons,  with  a  few   Connecticut 
gentlemen,  formed  the  bold  design  of  seizing  the  fortress 
by  surprise.     Accordingly,  soon  after  the  battle  of  Lexing- 
ton, they  borrowed  on  their  individual  credit  the  requisite 
funds  from  the  colonial  treasurer  to  enable  them  to  carry  on 
the  enterprise.     As  success  depended  upon  secrecy  and  dis- 
patch, and  it  would  be  difficult  to  march  any  number  of  men 
through  the  country  without  discovering  their  plans,  they  de- 
termined to  proceed  with  a  small  body  of  volunteers,  whom 
they  dispatched  immediately  on  the  27th  of  April,  under 
Edward  Mott,  of  Preston,  a  captain  in  Col.  Parsons'  regi- 
ment.    He  proceeded  to  Bennington,  where  he  met  Col. 
Ethan  Allen,  a  native  of  Connecticut,  who  readily  entered 
into  their  views,  and  agreed  to  conduct  the  enterprise.     After 
having  assembled  at  Castleton  about  two  hundred  and  sev- 
enty men,  Col.  Allen  assumed  the  command,  and  success- 
fully completed  the  whole  plan;  capturing  the  forts,  and 
making  prisoners  of  the  garrison  without  the  loss  of  a  single 
man .     This  was  the  first  blow • —  the  first  offensive  blow  struck 
by  the  colonies.     At  Concord  and  Lexington  the  Americans 
acted  on  the  defensive,  but  this  was  the  first  act  in  which  our 
countrymen  were  the  assailants— the  first  attack  planned 
and  successfully  executed  —  an  enterprise  highly  important 
in  its  glorious  results,  and  tending  to  inspire  the  Americans 
with  additional  confidence  in  themselves.     It  wa3  planned 
by  Connecticut,  executed  under  her  instructions,  and  paid 
for  and  maintained  by  her  men  and  treasury.     [Note  F.] 


194  S.    H.    PARSONS. 

In  1770  Mr.  Parsons  was  appointed  major  of  the  four- 
teenth regiment  of  militia;  and  on  the  26th  of  April,  1775, 
was  commissioned  by  the  colony  of  Connecticut  as  colonel 
of  the  sixth  regiment,  raised  "  for  the  special  defense  and 
safety  of  the  colony,"  and  soon  after  marched  to  and  con- 
tinued at  Roxbury,  until  the  British  evacuated  Boston,  when 
he  was  ordered  to  New  York.  He  was  actively  engaged  at 
the  battle  of  Long  Island,  August,  1776.  In  describing  this 
battle,  the  historian  Botta  says,  "  Lord  Percy  came  up  with 
his  corps,  and  the  entire  columns  descended  by  the  village 
of  Bedford  from  the  hights  into  the  plain  which  lay  between 
the  hills  and  the  camp  of  the  Americans.  During  this  time, 
Gen.  Grant,  in  order  to  amuse  the  enemy  and  direct  his  at- 
tention from  the  events  which  took  place  upon  the  route  of 
Flatland,  endeavored  to  disquiet  him  upon  his  right:  accord- 
ingly as  if  he  intended  to  force  the  defile  which  led  to  it,  put 
himself  in  motion  at  midnight,  and  attacked  the  militia  of 
New  York  and  of  Pennsylvania  who  guarded  it.  They  at 
first  gave  way,  but  Gen.  Parsons  being  arrived,  and  having 
occupied  an  eminence,  he  renewed  the  combat  and  maintained  his 
position  until  Brig.  Gen.  Lord  Sterling  came  to  his  assistance 
with  fifteen  hundred  men.  The  action  became  extremely 
animated,  and  fortune  favored  neither  the  one  side  nor  the 
other.  The  Hessians,  on  their  part,  had  attacked  the  center 
at  break  of  day,  and  the  Americans  commanded  by  Gen. 
Sullivan,  valiantly  sustained  their  efforts.  At  the  same  time, 
the  English  ships,  after  having  made  several  movements, 
opened  a  very  brisk  cannonade  against  a  battery  established 
in  the  little  island  of  Red  Hook,  upon  the  right  flank  of  the 
Americans,  who  combated  against  Gen.  Grant.  This,  also, 
was  a  diversion,  the  object  of  which  was  to  prevent  them 
from  attending  to  what  passed  in  the  center  and  on  the  left. 
The  Americans  defended  themselves  with  extreme  gallantry, 
ignorant  that  so  much  valor  was  exerted  in  vain,  since  victory 


S.    H.    PARSONS.  195 

was  already  in  the  hands  of  the  enemy,"  &c.  In  Mrs. 
Williams'  life  of  Olney,  she  says,  "The  militia  of  New 
York  and  Pennsylvania  were  attacked  by  Percy,  and  about 
giving  way,  when  Parsons  arrived  to  their  relief,  and  re- 
newed the  combat,  maintaining  his  position  against  fearful 
odds  until  Sterling  came  to  his  relief."  President  Stiles,  in 
his  diary,  says  "  It  was  said  that  Grant,  (British  colonel,)  was 
slain  by  our  Gen.  Parsons." 

In  August,  1776,  he  was  appointed  by  Congress  briga- 
dier-general, and  was  with  the  army  at  Harlem  bights, 
Kingsbridge,  and  in  the  battle  of  White  Plains.  He  was  sub- 
sequently stationed  at  Peekskill  with  a  portion  of  the  army 
to  protect  the  important  posts  upon  the  North  river,  and 
from  thence  was  frequently  detached  on  various  expeditions. 

In  1777,  about  the  middle  of  May,  returning  to  Peekskill 
from  Connecticut  with  a  body  of  recruits,  and  learning  while 
passing  through  New  Haven  that  the  enemy  had  collected 
a  large  quantity  of  forage  and  provisions  at  Sagg  harbor, 
for  the  supply  of  their  army  at  New  York,  Gen.  Parsons 
determined  to  seize  the  same,  and  with  that  view  dispatched 
Lieut.  Col.  Meigs  with  about  one  hundred  and  sixty  men,  who 
completely  effected  the  object  of  the  expedition,  and  also 
burnt  one  of  the  enemy's  armed  vessels,  took  ninety  pris- 
oners, and  re-crossed  the  sound  without  the  loss  of  a  single 
man.  This  was  the  most  important  operation  of  the  cam- 
paign of  1777,  and  proves,  by  its  successful  results,  great 
wisdom  and  judgment  in  its  design,  and  consummate  skill 
and  valor  in  its  execution.  It  was  specially  noticed  by 
Congress  and  by  Washington  in  a  very  complimentary 
manner,  and  is  particularly  described  by  Marshall,  in  his 
life  of  Washington,  vol.  iii,  p.  96,  as  well  as  in  the  follow- 
ing letter  from  Gen.  Parsons  to  Gov.  Trumbull,  dated  New 
Haven,  May  30th,  1777 : 


190  S.    II.    PARSONS. 

"  I  sincerely  congratulate  your  honor  on  the  success  of 
our  arms  at  Long  Island.  Col.  Meigs  left  Sachem's  Head 
on  Tuesday,  at  one  o'clock,  P.  M.,  with  a  detachment  of  one 
hundred  and  sixty  men,  officers  included,  and  landed  within 
three  miles  of  Sagg  harbor,  about  one  at  night;  and  having 
made  the  proper  arrangements  for  attacking  the  enemy  in 
five  different  places,  proceeded  in  the  greatest  order  and 
silence  within  twenty  rods  of  the  enemy,  when  they  rushed 
on  with  fixed  bayonets  upon  the  different  barracks,  guards 
and  quarters,  while  Capt.  Troop,  with  a  party  under  his 
command,  at  the  same  time  took  possession  of  the  wharves, 
and  vessels  lying  there.  The  alarm  soon  became  general, 
and  an  incessant  fire  of  grape  and  round  shot  was  kept  up 
from  an  armed  schooner  of  twelve  guns,  which  lay  within 
one  hundred  and  fifty  yards  of  the  wharves,  for  an  hour; 
notwithstanding  which,  the  party  burnt  all  the  vessels  at  the 
wharf,  killed  and  captured  all  the  men  who  belonged  to 
them,  destroyed  about  one  hundred  tons  of  hay,  large  quan- 
tities of  grain,  ten  hogsheads  of  rum,  and  other  West  India 
goods,  and  secured  all  the  soldiers  who  were  stationed  there. 
The  prisoners  are  about  ninety,  among  whom  are  Mr.  Chew 
and  Mr.  Bell.  I  have  the  satisfaction  of  being  informed 
that  the  officers  and  men,  without  exception,  behaved  with 
the  greatest  order  and  bravery,  and  not  a  man  on  our  side 
either  killed  or  wounded.  Eleven  vessels,  great  and  small, 
were  destroyed  in  the  above  affair,  and  the  prisoners  taken 
were  about  one-third  seamen ;  the  others,  generally  Ameri- 
can recruits,  are  sent  to  Hartford."  See  letter  to  Gen. 
Washington,  May  25,  1777.     [Note  C] 

In  June,  1777,  we  find  him  in  New  Jersey,  reinforcing  the 
army  of  Gen.  Washington,  encamped  at  Middlebrook,  an- 
ticipating an  attack  from  Gen.  Howe,  who,  it  was  supposed, 
had  designs  on  Philadelphia.     The  following  letter,  written 


S.    H.    PARSONS.  197 

June  22,  1777,  by  Gen.  Parsons,  to  his  wife,  describing  the 
locality  of  a  marching  army  watching  the  movements  of  his 
enemy,  may  not  be  uninteresting  : 

"  I  have  no  way  to  tell  you  where  I  am,  but  by  describing 
the  place  which  has  no  name.  Our  camp  is  about  two  miles 
advanced  in  front  of  the  mountain  where  the  army  is  posted, 
on  the  road  to  Quibbletovvn,  about  one  and  a  half  miles 
north  of  that  town,  about  two  and  a  half  miles  northwest 
of  Samptown,  about  three  miles  west  of  Brovvsetown,  and 
about  ten  miles  northwest  of  Spanktown,  about  eight  miles 
northeast  from  Brunswick,  six  miles  from  Middlebrook, 
about  one  mile  from  the  stream  called  Bonn's  brook,  east- 
ward, but  further  distant  from  the  village  of  that  name.  If 
you  can  find  me  by  this  description,,  I  shall  rejoice  to  hear 
from  you.  I  expect  to  remove  from  this  place  very  soon. 
Our  neighborhood  with  the  enemy  gives  us  frequent  skir- 
mishes, though  nothing  very  material  has  occurred  since  the 
rascals  retreated  in  so  scandalous  a  manner  from  Somerset 
court-house  to  Brunswick.  Their  grand  encampment  seems 
now  to  be  extended  from  Brunswick  to  Amboy.  We  are 
induced  to  believe  they  are  embarking  for  some  other  place, 
and  this  state  will  soon  be  clear  of  them ;  however,  this  is 
at  present  not  certain.  I  think  their  retreat  must  have  an 
exceeding  good  effect  in  every  point  of  view.  If  they  advance 
to  Millstone  or  Somerset  to  try  the  credit  they  may  give 
their  friends,  and  see  what  number  will  join  them,  they  must 
be  greatly  mortified  to  find  almost  every  man  who  had  re- 
ceived his  majesty's  protection  and  most  gracious  pardon  in 
arms  against  them.  Not  the  militia -only  of  this  state,  but 
almost  every  man  in  it  able  to  bear  arms,  have  voluntarily 
flown  to  arms  on  this  occasion.  If  they  designed  to  pene- 
trate the  country  to  Philadelphia,  they  are  convinced  it  is 
impracticable.  If  they  designed  to  turn  the  flank  of  our 
army,  and  draw  us  from  our  strong  grounds,  they  are 
disappointed. 


198  S.    H.    PARSONS. 

The  effect  this  maneuver  will  have  on  their  army  and  our 
forces,  and  on  the  minds  of  the  disaffected  in  the  country, 
will  probably  be  of  great  advantage  to  us.  Our  army  is 
now  respectable,  but  not  such  as  that  we  incline  to  attack 
them  in  their  strongholds  at  present;  especially  as  delay  is 
considered  as  fatal  to  them,  if  we  prevent  their  penetrating 
the  country.  The  general  is  very  well,  and  in  good  spirits; 
and  our  affairs  have  a  more  promising  aspect,  than  since 
the  war  began.  Where  their  next  movement  will  be,  is  yet 
uncertain ;  perhaps,  if  I  live,  I  may  see  you  sooner  than  I 
expected,  when  I  left  home.  About  one  thousand  of  my 
brigade  have  joined  us;  more  are  expected  every  hour. 
Col.  Butler  and  Maj.  Sill  are  at  M  orris  town  ;  I  expect  they 
will  soon  have  orders  to  join  their  brigades.  Every  neces- 
sary of  life  is  exceedingly  dear;  salt  is  from  ten  to  twenty  dol- 
lars per  bushel,  and  other  things  very  extravagant.  I  am  in 
very  comfortable  circumstances  myself,  though  not  very  well. 

Since  writing  the  above,  the  enemy  have  evacuated 
Brunswick,  with  great  precipitation  and  evident  signs  of 
fear,  and  are  fled  to  Amboy.  They  left  Brunswick  at  ten 
o'clock,  and  Gen.  Gaines  took  possession  by  the  time  they 
were  out.  They  left  a  considerable  quantity  of  flour  and 
other  things,  but  I  have  not  seen  the  return  yet.  We  pur- 
sued them,  and  attacked  their  rear  andjlank,  to  Amboy,  where 
they  are  going  on  board  their  ships.  This  state  is  once  more 
delivered  from  those  pests  of  society ;  who  will  next  be  in- 
fested with  them,  is  uncertain,  but  we  are  in  high  spirits, 
and  ready  to  march  to  any  part  of  the  country.  I  expect 
orders  to  march,  very  soon,  perhaps  to  the  North  ?*ivcr  again, 
where  I  shall  write  you. 

I  am,  my  dear,  with  love  to  children, 

your  affectionate  husband, 

Samuel  II.  Parsons." 

After  the  retreat  of  Gen.  Howe  from  New  JeTsey,  the 
brigades    of    Parsons    and   Yarnum   were    detached    from 


S.    H.    PARSONS.  199 

Middlebrook  to  Peekskill ;  and  those  continental  troops  at 
Peekskill,  which  had  been  ordered  by  Gen.  Washington  to 
join  him  in  New  Jersey,  and  had  proceeded  as  far  as  Pomp- 
ton  plains,  now  returned  to  their  former  station,  with  direc- 
tions to  hold  themselves  in  readiness  to  move  on  the  shortest 
notice.  (Marshall,  Vol.  iii,  p.  119.)  It  was  conjectured  that 
the  British  Gens.  Burgoyne  and  Howe  would  endeavor  to 
efFect  a  junction  of  their  two  armies  at  Albany.  Orders 
were  therefore  given  to  Gen.  Putnam,  who  commanded  at 
Peekskill,  to  prepare  for  such  an  event,  by  concentrating 
at  that  post  the  militia  of  the  country,  and  to  guard  against 
any  sudden  attempt  from  New  York.  The  importance  of 
defending  the  Highlands,  and  the  necessity  of  large  rein- 
forcements, was  strongly  urged  by  Gen.  Parsons,  in  a  letter 
to  Gen.  Washington,  July  30,  1777.  [Note  H.]  The  result 
shows  the  wisdom  and  foresight  which  prompted  the  sug- 
gestion. Large  requisitions  were  made  on  the  militia  of  the 
adjoining  states,  but  before  efFectual  measures  were  con- 
summated, Gen.  Clinton,  with  a  large  force,  advanced  up 
the  North  river,  captured  Forts  Montgomery  and  Clinton, 
and  proceeding  above  the  Highlands,  compelled  Gen.  Put- 
nam to  evacuate  the  post  at  Peekskill,  and  Forts  Inde- 
pendence and  Constitution,  and  return  to  Fishkill.  In  the 
meantime,  he  visited  Connecticut,  to  urge  upon  his  country- 
men the  importance  of  prompt  and  energetic  action.  The 
appeal  was  not  in  vain.  Always  ready  in  the  horn*  of  trial, 
that  patriotic  state  had  not  forgotten  that  on  the  day  suc- 
ceeding the  battle  of  Long  Island,  eighty- four  companies  of 
her  volunteers  had  marched  to  the  relief  of  Boston :  that  she 
had  struck  the  most  offensive  and  effectual  blow  for  liberty, 
and  had  sent  one  thousand  of  her  brave  sons  to  maintain 
the  conquest  of  Ticonderoga  and  Crown  Point,  planned  by 
her  wisdom,  and  achieved  by  her  valor :  that  more  than  four- 
teen thousand  of  her  brave  and  hardy  yeomanry  composed 


200  S.    H.   PARSONS. 

the  army  of  Washington  at  New  York,  in  177G;  yet  she 
was  ready,  ever  ready,  with  her  accustomed  energy  and 
undaunted  spirit,  to  shed  her  best  blood  in  defense  of  the 
rights  of  a  bleeding  country.  A  general  levy  was  made, 
and  two  thousand  men  obeyed  the  call,  marched  to  meet 
the  enemy,  and  again  planted  the  standard  of  liberty  upon 
the  summit  of  the  Highlands.     (P.  30.) 

Among  the  several  military  expeditions  during  the  year 
1777,  allusion  is  made  by  Gen.  Parsons  in  a  letter  to  Gen. 
Washington,  dated  December  29, 1777,  to  a  descent  on  Long 
Island  for  the  purpose  of  destroying  the  timber  and  boards 
prepared  at  the  east  end  of  the  island,  for  barracks  in  New 
York — to  decoy  the  fleet  at  Southhold  from  Rhode  Island, 
loaded  with  wood,  attack  a  regiment  stationed  about  eight 
miles  eastward  of  Jamaica,  and  remove  or  destroy  whatever 
public  stores  should  be  found  on  the  island  at  Shetocket. 
With  this  view  Col.  Meigs  was  to  have  landed  at  Hempstead 
harbor,  to  attack  the  regiment  near  Jamaica — Col.  Webb 
near  Huntington  to  sustain  Meigs,  and  afford  such  aid  to 
the  division  eastward  as  should  be  wanted,  and  destroy 
whatever  was  collected  in  that  part  of  the  county  of  Suffolk 
for  the  use  of  the  enemy.  The  easternmost  division  under 
Gen.  Parsons  landed  at  a  place  called  Hockaback,  about 
forty  miles  from  the  east  end  of  the  island.  The  fleet,  (ex- 
cept the  Swan  and  Harlem  sloops  of  war  and  four  other 
vessels,)  had  sailed:  one  sloop  had  taken  in  her  cargo  of 
timber  and  boards;  the  other  three  had  taken  none,  but 
being  light,  hauled  into  the  bay  under  cover  of  the  armed 
vessels. 

The  loaded  sloop  was  captured,  and  all  the  timber  and 
boards  prepared  for  New  York;  also  a  large  quantity  of 
wood  cut  for  another  fleet  expected  from  New  York.  The 
boats  commanded  by  Capt.  Ascough,  of  the  ship  Swan, 
were  attacked  within  twenty  yards  of  the  shore ;  two  of  the 


S.    H.    PARSONS.  201 

officers,  with  their  commander,  badly  wounded,  as  well  as 
several  soldiers,  and  eight  killed.  The  enemy's  ships  kept 
a  constant  fire,  but  without  execution.  The  eastern  division 
under  Gen.  Parsons,  after  accomplishing  their  designs,  re- 
turned to  the  main  again,  with  about  twenty  prisoners. 
Col.  Meigs,  who  was  to  have  crossed  from  Sawpits,  through 
the  roughness  of  the  water,  was  unable  to  pass  over  in  his 
boats.  The  other  two  divisions  under  Col.  Webb,  sailed 
from  Norwalk  the  evening  of  the  9th  instant,  with  fair  pros- 
pects, but  unfortunately  the  next  morning,  just  before  light, 
the  sloop  in  which  Col.  Webb  embarked,  fell  in  with  the 
British  frigate  Falcon,  on  her  passage  from  New  York  to 
Newport,  was  forced  on  shore  near  a  spot  called  the  Old 
Man's,  and  captured. 

This  expedition  was  well  planned,  and  would  have  been 
fully  and  most  successfully  accomplished,  but  for  the  adverse 
elements  which  prevented  the  embarkation  of  Col.  Meigs, 
and  the  unfortunate  capture  of  Col.  Webb  by  the  frigate 
Falcon,  circumstances  which  could  not  have  been  anticipated 
nor  avoided. 

In  November,  1777,  Gen.  Parsons  learning  that  the  enemy 
were  practicing  a  system  of  warfare  inconsistent  with  the 
common  principles  of  humanity,  by  burning  the  dwellings 
and  imprisoning  the  persons  of  peaceful  and  unoffending 
citizens,  with  many  outrageous  acts,  addressed  to  Gov.  Tryon 
a  letter  remonstrating  against  such  savage  barbarity.  It  is 
written  with  energy,  and  that  fervent  patriotism  peculiar  to 
the  author,  containing  sentiments  bold,  dignified,  and  un- 
answerable, while  the  reply  of  Gov.  Tryon  evinces  a  mind 
puerile,  ignoble,  base  and  cowardly. 

"Maroneck,  Nov.  21st,  1777. 

Sir  :  Adding  to  the  natural  horrors  of  war  the  most  wan- 
ton destruction  of  property,  is  an  act  of  cruelty  unknown  to 
civilized  nations,  and  unaccustomed  in  war  until  the  servants 


202  S.    II.    PARSONS. 

of  the  king  of  Great  Britain  have  convinced  the  impartial 
world,  that  no  act  of  inhumanity,  no  stretch  of  despotism, 
are  too  great  to  exercise  toward  those  they  term  rebels. 
Had  any  apparent  advantage  been  derived  from  burning 
the  houses  in  Phillips'  manor  last  Monday,  there  would  have 
been  some  reason  to  justify  the  measure ;  but  when  no  benefit 
whatever  can  be  proposed  by  burning  those  buildings  and 
stripping  the  women  and  children  of  apparel  necessary  to 
cover  them  from  the  severity  of  a  cold  night,  and  when 
captivating  and  leading  in  triumph  to  your  lines,  in  the  most 
ignominious  manner,  the  heads  of  those  families,  I  know 
not  what  justifiable  cause  to  assign  for  those  acts  of  cruelty, 
nor  can  I  conceive  a  necessity  for  your  further  orders  to  de- 
stroy Tarrytown.  You  cannot  be  insensible  it  is  every  day 
in  my  power  to  destroy  the  houses  and  buildings  of  Col. 
Phillips  and  those  belonging  to  the  family  of  Delancey,  each 
as  near  your  lines  as  those  buildings  were  to  my  guards; 
and  notwithstanding  your  utmost  vigilance,  you  cannot  pre- 
vent the  destruction  of  every  house  this  side  of  Kingsbridge. 
It  is  not  fear  —  it  is  not  a  want  of  opportunity  has  preserved 
those  buildings;  but  a  sense  of  the  injustice  and  savageness 
of  such  a  line  of  conduct,  has  hitherto  saved  them;  and 
nothing  but  necessity  will  induce  me  to  copy  the  examples 
of  this  sort,  frequently  set  by  your  troops.  It  is  not  my  in- 
clination, sir,  to  war  in  this  manner,  against  the  inhabitants 
within  your  lines,  who  suppose  themselves  within  your  king's 
protection.  But  necessity  will  oblige  me  to  retaliate  in  kind 
upon  your  friends,  to  procure  the  exercise  of  that  justice 
which  humanity  used  to  dictate,  unless  your  explicit  disa- 
vowal of  the  conduct  of  your  two  captains  Emmerick  and 
Barns,  shall  convince  me  that  those  houses  were  burned 
without  your  knowledge,  and  against  your  orders. 
I  am,  sir,  your  humble  servant, 
Gov.  Try  on.  Samuel  H.  Parsons." 


S.    H.    PARSONS.  203 

The  following  is  Gov.  Tryon's  reply  to  the  foregoing: 
"Kingsbridge,  November  23,  1777. 

Sir  :  Could  I  possibly  conceive  myself  accountable  to  a 
revolted  subject  of  the  king  of  Great  Britain,  I  might  an- 
swer your  letter,  received  by  the  flag  of  truce  yesterday,  re- 
specting the  conduct  of  the  party  under  Capt.  Emmerick's 
command,  upon  the  taking  of  Peter  and  Cornelius  Van 
Tassell.  I  have,  however,  candor  enough  to  assure  you,  as 
much  as  I  abhor  every  principle  of  inhumanity  or  ungener- 
ous conduct,  I  should,  were  I  in  more  authority,  burn  every 
committee-man's  house  within  my  reach,  as  I  deem  those 
agents  the  wicked  instruments  of  the  continued  calamities 
of  this  country ;  and  in  order  the  sooner  to  purge  this  col- 
ony of  them,  I  am  willing  to  give  twenty-five  silver  dollars 
for  every  active  committee-man  who  shall  be  delivered  up 
to  the  king's  troops.  I  guess,  before  the  end  of  the  next 
campaign,  they  will  be  torn  in  pieces  by  their  own  country- 
men, whom  they  have  forcibly  dragged,  in  opposition  to 
their  principles  and  duty,  (after  fining  them  to  the  extent  of 
their  property)  to  take  up  arms  against  their  lawful  sov- 
ereign, and  compelled  them  to  exchange  their  happy  con- 
stitution for  paper-rags,  anarchy,  and  distress.  The  ruins 
from  the  conflagration  of  New  York,  by  the  emissaries  of 
your  party  last  year,  remain  a  memorial  of  their  tender  re- 
gard for  their  fellow-beings,  exposed  to  the  severity  of  a 
cold  night.  This  is  the  first  correspondence  I  have  held 
with  the  king's  enemies,  on  my  part,  in  America;  and  as  I 
am  immediately  under  the  command  of  Sir  Henry  Clinton, 
your  future  letters,  dictated  with  decency,  would  be  more 
properly  directed  to  his  excellency. 

I  am,  sir,  your  most  obedient  servant, 

William  Tryon,  major-general. 

To  Gen.  Parsons." 


204  S.    H.    PARSONS. 

Gen.  Parsons  to  the  Hon.  Mr.  Laurens,  President  of 
Congress : 

"  Sir  :  On  the  18th  ult.,  Gen.  Tryon  sent  about  one  hundred 
men,  under  the  command  of  Capt.  Emmerick,  to  burn  some 
houses  within  about  four  miles  of  my  guards,  which,  under 
cover  of  a  dark  night,  he  effected,  with  circumstances  of 
most  savage  barbarity,  stripping  the  clothing  from  the 
women  and  children,  and  turning  them,  almost  naked,  into 
the  street,  in  a  most  severe  night :  the  men  were  made  pris- 
oners, and  led,  with  halters  around  their  necks,  with  no 
other  clothes  than  their  shirts  and  breeches,  in  triumph  to 
the  enemy's  lines.  This  conduct  induced  me  to  write  to 
Gen.  Tryon  upon  the  subject;  a  copy  of  my  letter  and  his 
answer  I  have  herewith  sent  you.  As  the  practice  of  deso- 
lating villages,  burning  houses,  and  every  species  of  unne- 
cessary distress  to  the  inhabitants,  ought  to  be  avoided,  I 
would  not  wish  to  retaliate  in  any  instance,  but  where,  in 
its  consequences,  the  enemy  may  be  injured,  or  one  of  our 
people  saved  by  it.  I  am  aware,  if,  in  any  instance,  this 
shall  be  done,  I  shall  subject  myself  to  censure,  unless  it  is 
in  consequence  of  some  general  orders  of  Congress,  by 
which  I  may  be  warranted.  As  these  instances  may  be  fre- 
quently repeated  by  the  enemy,  I  wish  to  know  in  what,  or 
whether  in  any  instance,  Congress  will  direct  a  retaliation. 

I  am,  sir,  your  obedient  humble  servant, 

Samuel  H.  Parsons." 

Gen.  Parsons  answer  to  Gen.  Tryon's  letter  of  23d  of 
November,  1777  : 

"Fisiikill,  January  1st,  1778. 

Sir:  Since  I  received  yours  of  the  23d  of  November,  I 
have  till  now  been  employed  in  matters  of  importance,  which 
have  not  left  me  at  liberty  to  acknowledge  the  receipt  of 
your  letter  before,  and  lest  you  should  think  me  wanting  in 


S.    H.    PARSONS.  205 

respect  due  to  your  character,  I  beg  your  acceptance  of 
this  letter,  which  closes  our  epistolary  correspondence.  It 
will  ever  be  my  design  'to  dictate  with  decency'  any  letters 
I  may  send,  however  remote  it  may  be  from  my  intention 
to  copy  the  examples  of  the  persons  my  duty  compels  me 
to  correspond  with.  As  propriety  and  decency  ought  to  be 
observed  in  every  transaction,  even  with  the  most  infamous 
characters,  I  never  wish  so  nearly  to  assimilate  myself  to 
them,  as  to  be  found  destitute  of  that  respect  which  is  due 
to  my  fellow-beings  in  every  station  in  life.  I  should  not 
have  entertained  a  thought  that  you  had  been  deficient  in 
the  duty  you  owe  your  king  in  every  part  of  the  globe,  or 
that  you  did  not  inherit  the  spirit  of  his  ministry,  which  has 
precipitated  the  present  crisis,  even  if  you  had  omitted  to 
assure  me  this  had  been  the  first  correspondence  you  had 
held  with  the  king's  enemies  in  America.  The  conflagra- 
tion of  New  York  you  are  pleased  to  charge  to  Ameri- 
can troops,  under  the  decent  name  of  a  party.  This  de- 
serves no  other  answer  than  to  assure  you  it  has  not  the 
least  foundation  in  truth,  and  that  we  are  assured  it  gains 
no  credit  with  officers  whose  rank  and  candor  gives  oppor- 
tunity to  know  and  believe  the  truth.  This,  like  many 
other  occurrences,  is  charged  to  the  account  of  those  who 
were  never  believed  guilty,  to  excite  to  rage,  and  direct  the 
resentment  of  the  ignorant  and  misruled  against  very  im- 
proper objects.  Perhaps  I  might  with  equal  propriety  and 
more  truth  suggest  this  unhappy  event  was  brought  about 
by  your  own  party,  from  the  same  motives  which  induced 
them  in  August,  1776,  to  mangle  the  dead  bodies  of  some 
of  the  foreign  troops,  in  a  most  shocking  and  inhuman 
manner,  and  place  them  in  the  most  conspicuous  parts  of 
the  road  through  which  their  brethren  were  to  pass. 

A  justifiable  resistance  against  unwarrantable  invasions 
of  the  natural  and  social  rights  of  mankind,  if  unsuccessful 


20G  S.    H.    PARSONS. 

according  to  the  fashion  of  the  world,  will  be  termed  rebel- 
lion, but  if  successful,  will  be  deemed  a  noble  struggle  for 
the  defense  of  everything  valuable  in  life.  Whether  I  am 
considered  as  a  revolted  subject  of  the  king  of  Great  Brit- 
ain, or  in  any  other  light  by  his  subjects,  is  very  immaterial, 
and  gives  me  little  concern.  Future  ages,  I  hope,  will  do 
justice  to  my  intentions,  and  the  present  to  the  humanity 
of  my  conduct.  Few  men  are  of  talents  so  very  inconsid- 
erable as  to  be  unalterably  excluded  from  every  degree  of 
fame.  A  Nero  and  Caligula  have  perpetuated  their  memo- 
ries. Perhaps  'twenty  silver  dollars'  may  be  motives  with 
those  you  employ  to  do  great  honor  to  your  Machiavelian 
maxims,  especially  that  which  advises  never  to  commit  crimes 
to  the  halves,  and  leave  lasting  monuments  of  your  princi- 
ples and  conduct,  which  will  hand  your  memory  down  to 
the  latest  posterity  in  indelible  characters.  We  act  on  a 
different  scale,  and  hold  ourselves  indispensably  bound  never 
to  commit  crimes,  but  to  execute  whatever  is  necessary  for 
our  welfare,  uninfluenced  by  sordid,  mercenary  motives.  In 
the  field  of  conjecture  I  shall  not  attempt  to  follow  you.  You 
may  have  a  better  talent  of  'guessing'  than  I  can  boast  of. 
This  satisfaction  at  least  you  may  enjoy,  that  if  }rou  find 
yourself  mistaken  in  one  conjecture,  you  have  an  undoubted 
right  to  guess  again.  I  shall  content  myself  to  wait  until 
the  event  verifies  your  prediction,  or  shows  you  are  mis- 
taken, assuring  you  I  shall  never  pursue  your  measures  for 
restoring  peace,  whether '  my  authority  is  greater  or  less,"1  fur- 
ther than  necessity  shall  compel  me  to  retort  the  injuries 
the  peaceable  inhabitants  of  this  country  may  receive  from 
the  hand  of  violence  and  oppression. 

I  am,  sir,  your  obedient  servant, 

Samuel  H.  Parsons. 

Gov.  Tryon." 

During  the  winter  of  1777,  Gen.  Parsons,  suffering  under 


S.    H.    PARSONS.  207 

feeble  health,  and  a  constitution  broken  down  in  the  service 
of  his  country,  expressed  to  the  commander-in-chief  a  desire 
to  retire  temporarily  from  the  active  duties  of  the  army,  but 
in  consequence  of  the  urgent  solicitation  of  Gen.  Washing- 
ton, he  relinquished  the  desire,  as  may  appear  by  the  fol- 
lowing letter,  dated 

"Highlands,  on  Hudson  river,  February  18th,  1778. 

Dear  General  :  I  had  the  honor  of  receiving  yours  of  the 
10th  of  January  about  eight  days  since,  at  this  place,  where  I 
have  returned  to  take  charge  of  my  brigade.  In  the  present 
state  of  the  army,  I  shall  continue  in  my  command,  lest  a 
different  conduct  may  prove  injurious  to  the  cause  of  my 
country,  at  this  critical  conjuncture  of  affairs.  However 
my  inclination  may  induce  me  to  retire  to  the  enjoyment  of 
domestic  happiness,  I  cannot  think  myself  warranted  to  in- 
dulge ray  wishes  at  a  time  when  so  many  officers  under  my 
command  are  desirous  of  leaving  the  toils  of  war  for  the 
pleasures  of  private  life." 

About  this  time  Gen.  Putnam  went  to  Connecticut  and 
left  West  Point,  and  all  the  troops  stationed  at  the  High- 
lands, under  the  command  of  Gen.  Parsons,  with  the  addi- 
tional duty  of  constructing  military  works  at  West  Point,  which 
had  been  delayed  in  consequence  of  misapprehension  in 
regard  to  the  several  resolves  of  Congress  upon  the  subject. 
It  seems  that  on  the  5th  of  November,  1777,  Congress  ap- 
pointed Gen.  Gates  to  command  in  the  Highlands,  connect- 
ing that  post  with  the  northern  department,  and  empowered 
him  to  make  obstructions  in  and  fortifications  on  the  banks 
of  the  Hudson  river,  but  as  he  was  made  President  of  the 
Board  of  War,  he  never  entered  upon  these  duties.  Again, 
on  the  18th  of  February,  Gov.  Clinton  was  requested  to 
take  the  superintendence  of  the  works,  but  the  multiplicity  of 
his  civil  employments  made  it  necessary  for  him  to  decline 


208  S.    II.    PARSONS. 

the  undertaking.  Meantime,  Gen.  Putnam  went  to  Con- 
necticut, and  left  the  post  in  charge  of  Gen.  Parsons, 
who  entered  promptly  upon  the  discharge  of  his  arduous  and 
perplexing  duty. 

In  a  letter  of  18th  of  February,  to  Gen.  Washington,  he 
remarks,  "Almost  every  obstacle  within  the  circle  of  pos- 
sibility has  happened,  to  retard  the  progress  of  the  obstruc- 
tions in  and  fortifications  on  the  banks  of  Hudson  river. 
Preparations  for  completing  them  are  now  in  a  state  which 
will  afford  a  good  prospect  of  completing  them  in  April,  and 
unless  some  difficulties  yet  unforeseen  should  prevent,  I 
think  we  cannot  fail,  by  the  forepart  of  that  month,  to  have 
them  in  a  good  degree  of  forwardness.  Nothing  on  my 
part  shall  be  wanting  to  put  them  in  a  state  of  forwardness 
to  answer  the  reasonable  expectations  of  the  country,  as 
early  as  possible." 

Again,  in  a  letter  to  Gen.  Washington,  dated  7th  of 
March,  1778,  explaining  the  perplexities  arising  under  the 
resolves  of  Congress  of  the  5th  of  November,  and  18th  of 
February,  in  regard  to  Gen.  Gates  and  Gov.  Clinton,  whose 
powers  were  deemed  strictly  personal,  he  remarks,  "  I  shall 
exert  myself  to  have  the  works  in  a  state  of  defense  as 
early  as  possible,  by  the  due  exercise  of  such  directions  as 
your  excellency  shall  please  to  give  me.  Col.  Radiere,  find- 
ing it  impossible  to  complete  the  fort  and  other  defenses 
intended  at  this  post,  in  such  manner  as  to  effectually  with- 
stand the  attempts  of  the  enemy  to  pass  up  the  river  early 
in  the  spring,  and  not  choosing  to  hazard  his  reputation  on 
works  erected  on  a  different  scale,  calculated  for  a  short  du- 
ration only,  has  desired  leave  to  wait  on  your  excellency 
and  Congress,  which  I  have  granted  him.  In  justice  to  Col. 
Radiere,  I  ought  to  say  he  appears  to  be  a  gentleman  of 
science  and  knowledge  in  his  profession,  and  disposed  to 


S.    H.    PARSONS.  209 

render  us  every  service  lie  is  able  to  do.  I  shall  expedite  the 
building  of  such  works  as  are  most  necessary  for  immediate 
defense." 

Again,  in  another  letter,  dated 

"Camp  West  Point,  March  16th,  1778. 

On  the  14th  inst.  I  had  the  honor  of  receiving  your  letter 
of  the  7th  of  March,  and  also  one  of  the  8th,  containing  a 
copy  of  the  5th  of  March.  I  shall  pay  particular  attention 
to  forwarding  the  work  of  the  boats  designed  for  transport- 
ing over,  as  well  as  to  those  which  are  to  be  employed  for 
defense  on  Hudson  river.  I  have  ordered  all  the  boats  and 
other  crafts  on  the  river  to  be  collected  in  different  places, 
and  put  in  the  best  possible  state  immediately.  When  I 
was  last  at  Poughkeepsie  the  gun-boats  were  in  such  a 
state  as  to  give  hopes  of  their  being  fit  for  use  within  a  few 
weeks ;  and  as  Gov.  Clinton  has  been  kind  enough  to  take 
upon  himself  the  direction  of  them,  I  think  we  may 
hope  to  see  them  completed  soon.  I  will  send  to  Albany, 
and  know  the  state  of  the  boats  there,  and  as  the  river  will 
be  soon  clear  of  ice,  I  will  order  down  such  boats  and  other 
crafts  as  can  be  had  there,  fit  for  transportation  over  the  river. 
If  the  chain  is  complete,  we  shall  be  ready  to  stretch  it  over  the 
river  next  week.  A  sufficient  number  of  chevaux  de  frise  to 
fill  those  parts  left  open  last  year,  are  ready  to  sink  as  soon 
as  the  weather  and  the  state  of  the  river  will  admit  it  to  be 
done.  1  hope  to  have  two  sides  and  one  bastion  of  the  fort  in 
some  state  of  defense  in  about  a  fortnight.  The  other  sides 
need  very  little  to  secure  them.  There  is  a  prospect  of 
having  five  or  six  cannon  mounted  in  one  of  our  batteries 
this  week.  I  think  the  works  are  going  on  as  fast  as  could  be 
expected  from  our  small  number  of  men,  total  want  of  mate- 
rials provided,  and  of  money  to  purchase  them.  We  have 
borrowed,  and  begged,  and  hired  money  to  this  time.    I  have 

several  times  advanced  my  last  shilling  toward  purchasing 
14 


210  S.    H.    PARSONS. 

materials,  &c. ;  and  I  believe  this  has  been  the  case  with 
almost  every  officer  here.  As  we  still  live,  I  hope  we 
shall  accomplish  the  works  in  the  river  in  season,  if  the  en- 
emy move  with  their  accustomed  caution  and  tardiness; 
when  I  hope  Congress  will  repay  what  has  been  advanced, 
and  cannot  think  us  blamable  if  we  have  been  compelled 
to  save  the  public  credit,  and  forward  the  business  intrusted 
to  our  care." 

From  the  above  correspondence  it  appears  that  the  forti- 
fications at  West  Point,  and  upon  the  Highlands,  were  built 
under  the  superintendence  of  Gen.  Parsons,  where  he  was 
stationed  the  principal  part  of  the  years  1778  and  1779,  but 
was  frequently  detached  upon  expeditions  to  protect  the 
sea-coast  of  his  native  state,  near  Horseneck,  Greenwich, 
New  Haven  and  New  London.  Time  and  space,  however, 
will  not  permit  a  full  statement  of  his  services.  It  appears 
also  from  his  numerous  opinions,  recorded  and  preserved 
among  the  manuscripts  of  Gen.  Washington,  that  he  was 
frequently  consulted  in  questions  of  great  moment,  and  in 
critical  times  of  public  danger. 

On  the  23d  of  June,  1779,  Gen.  Washington  removed  his 
head-quarters  in  consequence  of  the  enemy  having  taken 
possession  of  Verplank's  Point  and  Stony  Point,  from 
Smith's  Clove  to  New  Windsor,  where  he  might  be  contigu- 
ous to  the  forts,  and  better  situated  to  attend  to  different 
parts  of  the  army  on  both  sides  of  the  Hudson  river.  The 
main  body  of  the  army  was  left  at  Smith's  Clove,  under  the 
command  of  Gen.  Putnam.  The  object  now  in  view  was 
to  guard  against  an  attack  upon  West  Point.  Gen.  Mc- 
Dougall  was  transferred  to  the  command  of  West  Point. 
Three  brigades  were  stationed  on  the  east  side  of  the  river; 
Nixon's  at  Constitution  island,  Parsons'1  opposite  West  Point, 
with  instructions  to  assist  in  constructing  the  works,  [Note  K,] 
and  Huntington  on  the  principal  road  leading  to  Fishkill. 


S.    H.    PAKSONS.  211 

These  three  brigades  were  put  under  the  command  of  Gen. 
Heath,  who  had  been  recently  ordered  to  repair  from  Boston 
to  he  ad -quarters. 

In  July,  1779,  Gen.  Washington,  understanding  that  Gen. 
Tryon  had  invaded  Connecticut  with  twenty-six  hundred 
British  troops,  immediately  directed  Gen.  Parsons,  (then 
stationed  near  the  Highlands,)  to  hasten  to  the  scene  of 
action,  with  a  view  of  giving  confidence  to  his  countrymen, 
and  guiding  their  efforts.  [Note  L.]  Placing  himself  at  the 
head  of  one  hundred  and  fifty  continental  troops  who  were 
supported  by  the  militia  under  Gen.  Erastus  Wolcott,  he  at- 
tacked the  British  in  the  morning  of  the  12th,  so  soon  as  they 
had  landed  at  Norwalk ;  and,  although  too  weak  to  prevent 
the  destruction  of  that  fort,  he  harassed  and  annoyed  the 
enemy  throughout  the  day  in  such  a  manner  that  they  re- 
embarked  and  returned  to  Huntington  bay  for  fresh  supplies 
of  artillery  and  reinforcements  of  men;  and  soon  after 
abandoned  the  undertaking  of  penetrating  the  Connecticut 
territory,  returned  to  New  York.  [Note  M.]  Before  in- 
vading Connecticut,  Gen.  Tryon  addressed  to  Gens.  Putnam 
and  Parsons  the  following  letter  : 

"New  York,  June  18th,  1779. 

Sir:  By  one  of  his  majesty's  ships  of  war,  which  arrived 
here  last  night  from  Georgia,  we  have  intelligence  that  the 
British  forces  were  in  possession  of  Fort  Johnstone,  near 
Charlestown,  the  first  of  June.  Surely  it  is  time  for  rational 
Americans  to  wish  for  a  reunion  with  the  parent  state,  and 
to  adopt  such  measures  as  will  most  speedily  effect  it. 

I  am  your  very  humble,  obedient  servant, 

Wm.  Tryon,  major-general. 

To  Gen.  Putnam,  or,  in  his  absence,  to  Gen.  Parsons." 

The  following  is  Gen.  Parson's  reply : 

"Camp,  Highlands,  September  7th,  1779. 

Sir:  I  should   have  paid  an  earlier   attention  to   your 


212  S.    II.    PARSONS. 

polite  letter  of  the  18th  of  June,  had  I  not  entertained  some 
hope  of  a  personal  interview  with  you,  in  your   descents 
upon  the  defenseless  towns  of  Connecticut,  to  execute  your 
master's  vengeance  upon  rebellious  women  and  formidable 
hosts  of  boys  and  girls,  who  were  induced,  by  insidious  pro- 
clamations, to  remain  in  those  hapless  places,  and  who,  if 
they  had  been  suffered  to  continue  in  the  enjoyment  of  that 
peace  their  age  and  sex  entitled  them  to  expect  from  civil- 
ized nations,  you  undoubtedly  supposed  would  prove  the 
scourge  of  Britain's  veteran  troops,  and  pluck  from  you 
those  laurels  with  which  that  fiery  expedition  so  plentifully 
crowned  you.     But  your  sudden  departure  from  Norwalk, 
and  the  particular  attention  you  paid  to  your  personal  safety, 
when  at  that  place,  and  the  prudent  resolution  you  took,  to 
suffer  the  town  of  Stamford  to  escape  the  conflagration  to 
which  you  had  devoted  Fairfield  and  Norwalk,  prevented 
my  wishes  on  that  head.    This  will,  I  hope,  sufficiently  apol- 
ogize for  my  delay  in  answering  your  last  letter.    By  letters 
from  France,  we  have  intelligence  that  his  Catholic  majesty 
declared  war  against  Great  Britain  in  June  last;  that  the 
combined  fleets  of  France  and  Spain,  amounting  to  more 
than  sixty  sail  of  the  line,  having  formed  a  junction  with 
twenty-five   thousand  land  forces,   are   now  meditating  a 
blow  on  the  British  dominions  in  Europe;    and    that  the 
grand  fleet  of  old  England  find  it  very  inconvenient  to  ven- 
ture  far  from  their   harbors.     In  the  West  Indies,  Admiral 
Byron,  having  greatly  suffered  in  a  naval  engagement,  cs- 
caped,  with  his  ships  in  a  very  shattered  condition,  to  St. 
Christopher's,  and  covered  his  fleet  under  the  batteries  on 
the  shores,  and  has  suffered  himself  to  be  insulted  in  the 
road   of  that  island  by  the  French  admiral;  and  Count  de 
Estaing,  after  reducing  the  islands  of  St.  Vincent  and  Gren- 
ada to  the  obedience  of  France,  defeating  and  disabling  the 
British  fleet:  has  sailed  for  Hispaniola,  where  it  is  expected 


S.    H.    PARSONS.  213 

he  will  be  joined  by  the  Spanish  fleet  in  those  seas,  and  at- 
tack Jamaica. 

The  storming  your  strong  works  at  Stony  Point,  and  cap- 
turing the  garrison,  by  our  brave  troops ;  the  brilliant  suc- 
cesses of  Gen.  Sullivan  against  your  faithful  friends  and 
allies,  the  savages;  the  surprise  of  Paulus  Hook,  by  Maj. 
Lee;  the  flight  of  Gen.  Provost  from  Carolina;  and  your 
shamefully  shutting  yourselves  up  in  New  York  and  the 
neighboring  islands,  are  so  fully  within  your  knowledge,  as 
scarcely  to  need  repetition. 

Surely  it  is  time  for  Britons  to  rouse  from  their  delusive 
dreams  of  conquest,  and  pursue  such  systems  of  future  con- 
duct as  will  save  their  tottering  empire  from  total  destruction. 

I  am,  sir,  your  obedient  servant, 

Samuel  H.  Parsons. 

To  Maj.  Gen.  Try  on." 

On  the  29th  of  October,  1780,  he  was  appointed,  by  Gen. 
Washington,  one  of  the  board  of  general  officers  at  West 
Point,  for  the  trial  of  Maj.  Gen.  Andre,  of  the  British  army, 
as  a  spy. 

In  the  same  month  he  received  from  Congress,  a  com- 
mission as  major-general,  and  succeeded  Gen.  Putnam  in 
the  command  of  the  Connecticut  line  of  the  continental 
army. 

The  defenseless  inhabitants  between  Greenwich  and  New 
York,  having  been  much  annoyed,  and  suffered  great  losses 
by  the  frequent  incursions  of  Col.  Delancey's  corps  at  Mor- 
risiana,  Gen.  Parsons  determined  to  destroy  the  enemy's 
barracks,  which  could  not  be  rebuilt  during  the  winter;  and 
thus  afford  some  protection  to  the  inhabitants  in  that  vicinity. 
For  this  purpose,  he  advanced,  with  rapid  marches,  to  West 
Chester  and  Morrisiana,  with  a  few  continentals,  attacked 
the  British  troops,  and  effectually  accomplished  his  object. 

Gen.  Washington,  in  a  letter  addressed  to  the  President 


214  S.    II.    PARSONS. 

of  Congress,  January  31st,  1781,  thus  alludes  to  this  expe- 
dition :  "  Inclosed  are  two  reports  of  Maj.  Gen.  Parsons  and 
Lieut.  Col.  Hull,  respecting  our  enterprise  againt  Delancey's 
corps  at  West  Chester ;  in  which,  with  a  small  loss  on  our 
side,  the  barracks  of  the  corps,  and  a  large  quantity  of  for- 
age were  destroyed,  fifty-two  prisoners  and  a  considerable 
number  of  horses  and  cattle  brought  off,  and  a  bridge  across 
Harlem  river,  under  one  of  the  enemy's  redoubts,  burnt. 
Gen.  Parsons'  arrangements  were  judicious;  and  the  con- 
duct of  the  officers  and  men  employed  on  the  occasion,  is 
entitled  to  the  highest  praise.  The  position  of  the  corps,  two 
or  three  miles  within  some  of  the  enemy's  redoubts,  required 
address  and  courage  in  the  execution  of  the  enterprise." 

Congress  passed  a  resolution  directing  Gen.  Washington 
to  present  to  Gen.  Parsons  and  the  officers  under  his  com- 
mand, the  thanks  of  Congress  for  his  judicious  arrangements, 
and  for  the  courage  displayed  by  the  officers  and  men. 

In  the  year  1781,  he  was  appointed  by  the  governor  and 
council  of  Connecticut  to  command  the  state  troops  and 
coast  guards,  raised  for  the  protection  of  the  state,  and  to 
dispose  them  in  such  manner  as  he  should  judge  expedient 
to  protect  the  inhabitants  from  the  incursions  of  the  enemy 
on  the  sea-coast. 

At  the  close  of  the  war  he  resumed  the  practice  of  law 
in  Middletown,  whither  his  family  had  been  removed  during 
the  Revolution,  and  frequently  represented  that  town  in  the 
Legislature. 

In  the  prosecution  of  measures  for  the  formation  of  Mid- 
dlesex county,  he  was  more  engaged  and  more  influential 
than  any  other  man.  He  was  an  active  and  influential 
member  of  the  state  convention  which  assembled  at  Hart- 
ford, January,  1781,  and  adopted  the  constitution  of  the 
United  States.  He  was  a  member  and  for  some  time  presi- 
dent of  the  society  of  Cincinnati,  in  Connecticut. 


S.    H.    PARSONS.  215 

In  the  latter  part  of  the  year  1785,  he  was  appointed  by 
Congress,  a  commissioner,  in  connection  with  Gens.  Richard 
Butler,  of  Pittsburg,  and  George  Rogers  Clarke,  of  Ken- 
tucky, to  treat  with  the  Shaivanoe  Indians,  near  the  falls  of 
Ohio,  for  extinguishing  the  aboriginal  title  to  certain  lands 
within  the  Northwestern  Territory.  This  treaty  was  held  on 
the  northwestern  bank  of  the  Ohio,  near  the  mouth  of  the 
Great  Miami,  January  31st,  1786,  and  the  Indians  then  ceded 
to  the  United  States  a  large  and  valuable  tract  upon  which 
the  flourishing  city  of  Cincinnati  now  stands. 

Under  the  ordinance  of  Congress  of  1787,  he  was  ap- 
pointed judge  in  and  over  the  territory  of  the  United  States 
northwest  of  the  river  Ohio.  The  commission  is  dated  Oc- 
tober 23d,  1787,  and  signed  by  Arthur  St.  Clair,  president, 
and  Charles  Thomson,  secretary  of  Congress.  In  1789  he 
was  nominated  by  Gen.  Washington,  by  and  with  the  consent 
of  the  senate,  chief  judge  in  and  over  the  same  territory, 
then  embracing  the  present  states  of  Ohio,  Indiana,  Illinois 
and  Michigan,  which  office  he  held  until  his  death.  His 
associates  were  Gen.  James  Varnum,  of  Rhode  Island,  and 
the  Hon.  John  Cleves  Symmes,  of  New  Jersey.  In  1789 
he  was  appointed  by  the  state  of  Connecticut  a  commis- 
sioner with  Gov.  Oliver  Wolcott,  of  Litchfield,  and  Hon. 
James  Davenport,  of  Stamford,  to  hold  a  treaty  with  the 
Wyandots  and  other  tribes  of  Indians,  for  extinguishing 
their  claim,  (the  aboriginal  title  to  the  lands  called  the  Con- 
necticut Western  Reserve,)  and  in  the  fall  of  1789  he  visited 
that  country  with  a  view  to  preliminary  arrangements  for 
holding  a  treaty  with  them.  While  returning  to  his  resi- 
dence at  Marietta,  he  was  drowned  in  descending  the  rapids 
of  the  Big  Beaver  river,  the  17th  of  November,  1789,  aged 
fifty-two  years. 

Among  the  manuscripts  of  Gen.  Parsons  in  the  possession 
of  his  grandson,  Samuel   H.  Parsons,  of  Hartford,  are  a 


216  S.    H.    PARSONS. 

journal  of  observations  and  occurrences  when  he  first  vis- 
ited the  western  country ;  a  communication  to  the  American 
Academy  of  Arts  and  Sciences  in  October,  1786,  describing 
the  western  mounds,  manners  and  customs  of  the  aborigines ; 
original  address  to  the  Shawanoes  tribes ;  besides  a  volumin- 
ous correspondence  before,  during,  and  after  the  Revolu- 
tionary war,  with  the  distinguished  men  of  that  period. 


GEN.    BENJAMIN     TUPPER* 

Gen.  Benjamin  Tupper  was  born  at  Staughton,  Mass.,  in 
that  part  now  called  Sharon,  in  1738,  but  the  precise  time 
is  unknown  to  his  descendants  in  this  state.  He  was  the 
youngest  of  eight  children  of  his  parents,  seven  sons  and 
one  daughter.  His  brothers'  names  were  Mayhew,  Levi, 
Seth,  Simeon,  Reuben  and  Judah.  His  sister,  Joanna,  was 
married  to  Benjamin  Estie,  of  Staughton.  His  brothers 
emigrated  to  different  parts  of  the  country.  Mayhew  went 
to  New  York,  Simeon  lived  in  Vermont,  and  with  two  of 
his  sons,  served  in  the  Revolutionary  army.  Reuben  died 
at  Sharon,  Judah  came  to  Marietta  with  Gen.  Tupper,  where 
he  died  in  1793.  Gen.  Tupper's  father  died  when  he  was 
quite  young,  and  he  was  apprenticed  to  a  tanner  in  Dor- 
chester by  the  name  of  Witherton,  with  whom  he  lived  until 
he  was  sixteen  years  of  age.  After  leaving  Dorchester,  he 
worked  on  the  farm  of  Joshua  Howard,  of  Easton,  with 
whom  he  continued  to  reside  the  most  of  his  time  until  he 
was  married. 

At  the  commencement  of  the  French  war,  he  engaged  as 
a  private  soldier  in  the  army,  and  was  connected  with  it  the 
most  of  the  time  for  two  or  three  years,  though  absent  from 
it  during  the  winter,  except  in  the  winter  of  175G-7,  when 
he  acted  as  clerk  of  a  company  in  the  eastern  army.  Whether 
he  was  in  any  engagement  during  that  war,  is  not  known. 
He  kept  a  district  school  in  Easton  two  or  three  winters 
during  the  war  or  soon  after. 

*  The  sketch  of  the  life  of  Gen.  Benjamin  Tupp°r  was  written  by  his  grandson, 
Anselm  Tupper  Nye,  of  Marietta. 


218  BENJAMIN    TUPPER. 

He  was  married  at  Easton,  November  18th,  1762,  to  Hul- 
dah  White,  who  resided  in  the  same  town,  and  with  whom 
he  had  long  been  acquainted.  She  was  a  woman  of  no 
ordinary  talents,  and  was  eminently  fitted  for  the  trials  and 
difficulties  through  which  they  were  called  to  pass  in  the 
latter  period  of  their  lives.  She  died  at  Springfield,  now 
Putnam,  Ohio,  on  the  21st  of  February,  1812.  She  was 
well  known  to  many  of  the  now  oldest  inhabitants  of  Ma- 
rietta, having  survived  her  husband  more  than  twenty  years. 

They  resided  at  Easton  for  a  short  time  after  their  mar- 
riage, when  they  removed  to  Chesterfield,  in  Hampshire 
county,  Mass.,  which  continued  to  be  the  residence  of  his 
family  until  they  removed  to  Marietta. 

At  the  commencement  of  our  Revolutionary  war,  Gen. 
Tupper  was  a  lieutenant  of  the  militia,  in  Chesterfield.  His 
first  military  duty  during  that  war  was  in  stopping  the  Su- 
preme Court  acting  under  the  authority  of  the  crown,  at 
Springfield.  Under  the  command  of  Maj.  Halley,  of  North- 
ampton, a  body  of  men  prevented  the  sitting  of  the  court, 
thus  manifesting  the  determination  of  the  people  of  that 
state  to  resist  the  authority  of  the  British  government. 

In  1775  he  held  the  rank  of  major  of  a  regiment  of  six 
months  men,  serving  near  Boston.  While  there  he  collected 
a  number  of  boats  and  men  for  an  expedition  to  Castle 
island,  in  Boston  harbor.  They  passed  with  muffled  oars 
close  to  the  British  fleet,  then  in  the  harbor,  to  the  castle, 
burnt  the  light-house,  brought  off  considerable  property  in 
light  articles,  and  returned  safe  to  the  main  land  without 
any  loss  of  men,  or  perhaps  with  the  loss  of  one  man.  The 
enemy  repaired  the  light-house,  and  Maj.  Tupper  in  another 
expedition  with  boats,  burnt  it  the  second  time.  After  his 
return  from  one  of  these  expeditions,  he  wrote  the  following 
letter  to  Gen.  WTard: 


BENJAMIN    TUPPER.  219 

"Chelsea,  Wednesday,  10  o'clock,  P.  M. 

Sir  :  By  Lieut.  Shepherd  you  will  receive  two  horses  and 
eleven  head  of  cattle  taken  from  the  Governor's  island. 
I  obeyed  my  orders  in  burning  the  boat.  If  it  should  seem 
that  I  went  too  much  beyond  in  burning  the  house,  hope 
your  honor  will  suspend  hard  thoughts  until  I  am  so  happy 
as  to  see  you.  I  was  not  so  lucky  as  to  find  any  of  liberty ; 
was  so  unhappy  as  to  leave  a  number  of  horses  on  the 
island,  which  I  humbly  conceive  I  can  give  a  sufficient  rea- 
son for.  My  party  is  all  well,  in  good  spirits :  the  wind  very 
high :  shall  return  to  camp  as  soon  as  possible :  must 
humbly  beg  the  favor  of  the  sorrel  horse,  if  you  judge  in 
your  known  candor  that  I  deserve  him.  As  the  cattle  too 
were  not  taken  in  the  enemy's  camp,  I  conceive  they  will 
belong  to  the  party. 

I  am,  with  the  highest  esteem,  your  honor's  most  obedient, 
humble  servant,  Benj.  Tupper. 

To  the  Hon.  Gen.  Ward." 

In  Washington's  Letters,  vol.  ii,  page  20,  the  following 
account  of  one  of  these  expeditions  will  be  found : 

"August  4th,  1775. 

The  other  happened  at  the  light-house.  A  number  of 
workmen  having  been  sent  down  to  repair  it,  with  a  guard 
of  twenty-two  marines  and  a  subaltern,  Maj.  Tupper,  last 
Monday  morning,  about  two  o'clock,  landed  there  with  about 
three  hundred  men,  attacked  them,  killed  the  officer  and  four 
privates;  but  being  detained  by  the  tide  on  his  return,  he 
was  attacked  by  several  boats ;  but  he  happily  got  through, 
with  the  loss  of  one  man  killed,  and  another  wounded.  The 
remainder  of  the  ministerial  troops  (three  of  whom  are 
badly  wounded)  he  brought  ofF  prisoners,  with  ten  Tories,  all 
of  whom  are  on  their  way  to  Springfield  jail.  The  rifle- 
men, in  these  skirmishes,  lost  one  man,  who  (we  hear)  is  a 
prisoner  in  Boston  jail." 


220  BENJAMIN    TUPPER. 

In  the  following  winter,  an  incident  occurred,  which  serves 
to  illustrate  the  character  of  Gen.  Tupper,  for  cool,  delib- 
erate courage,  which  he  possessed  in  an  eminent  degree. 
Three  men  in  a  boat  had  been  out  fishing;  while  out,  the 
wind  shifted,  and  blew  the  ice  toward  the  shore,  where  they 
must  land.  The  men  attempted  to  return,  but  found  their 
way  completely  blocked  up  with  floating  ice.  Their  situa- 
tion was  one  of  great  danger.  All  their  efforts  to  get  their 
boat  through  the  ice  were  unavailing;  nor  were  they  able 
to  turn  back.  The  wind  blew  severely  cold,  and  they  were 
in  a  situation  in  which  they  must  soon  have  perished,  in 
view  of  thousands  of  spectators,  full  of  consternation,  but 
making  no  effort  to  relieve  these  perishing  men.  Maj.  Tup- 
per learning  their  condition,  instantly  contrived  a  plan  for 
their  relief.  Procuring  three  pair  of  rackets,  or  snow  shoes, 
he  repaired  immediately  to  the  shore,  putting  one  pair  on 
his  own  feet,  and  with  a  pair  under  each  arm,  made  his  way 
for  the  boat,  over  the  floating  ice.  Fixing  a  pair  of  rackets 
to  the  feet  of  two  of  the  men,  and  encouraging  the  other 
that  he  should  be  relieved  in  his  turn,  he  succeeded  in  bring- 
ing them  all  to  shore. 

In  1776,  Gen.,  then  Col.,  Tupper,  commanded  a  regiment 
of  six  months  men.  With  the  other  troops,  they  repaired 
to  New  York  before  the  battle  on  Long  Island.  Tupper's 
and  Nixon's  regiments  from  Massachusetts,  and  Sage's  from 
Connecticut,  were  placed  on  Governor's  island  in  the  har- 
bor. The  next  morning  after  the  battle,  the  Roebuck  man- 
of-war  was  ordered  up  to  summon  the  garrison  on  Governors 
island,  to  surrender.  An  officer,  with  a  flag  of  truce  from 
the  ship,  landed  from  a  boat,  and  held  up  his  flag.  An  of- 
ficer from  the  fort,  Maj.  Coburn,  was  dispatched  to  answer, 
that  "  the  fort  would  not  be  surrendered  at  any  rate." 
When  these  officers  met,  they  found  themselves  to  be  old 
acquaintances,  having  served  together  during  the  French 


BENJAMIN    TDPPER.  221 

war.  After  shaking  hands  heartily,  and  some  little  conver- 
sation, the  British  officer  made  known  his  errand;  Coburn 
told  him  the  fort  would  not  be  surrendered,  and  they  parted. 
The  ship  soon  opened  her  fire  upon  the  American  fort,  which 
was  returned  by  the  fort,  but  to  little  purpose ;  their  work 
was  not  capable  of  being  defended  against  the  fire  of  the 
ship ;  hence  all  were  in  alarm.  During  the  previous  night, 
the  American  troops  on  Long  Island  had  been  taken  off  with 
boats,  with  all  their  baggage,  light  artillery,  and  entrench- 
ing tools.  Under  the  superintendence  of  Col.  Rufus  Put- 
nam, acting  then  as  chief  engineer  of  the  army,  or  of  Gen. 
Israel  Putnam,  boats  were  sent  to  Governor's  island,  and 
Tupper's  and  Nixon's  regiments  were  brought  to  the  city  of 
New  York,  but  Sage's  regiment  was  left  behind.  While  the 
troops  were  thus  landing  in  the  city,  the  officer  in  command 
hoisted  his  flag  to  surrender ;  upon  which  the  firing  ceased. 
The  boats  were  hurried  from  the  city  back  to  the  island, 
and  brought  off  Sage's  regiment,  with  the  loss  of  one  killed, 
and  one  wounded. 

The  next  military  event  in  which  Gen.  Tupper  is  known 
to  have  been  engaged,  was  in  August,  1776,  when  he  was 
sent  in  command  of  a  number  of  gun-boats,  or  galleys,  up 
the  North  river.  Near  Fort  Washington  an  engagement 
took  place  between  these  boats  and  several  ships  of  war 
belonging  to  the  enemy.  Gen.  Washington  makes  honor- 
able mention  of  this  engagement,  in  his  letter  dated  August 
5th,  177G,  as  follows  : 

"  The  inclosed  copy  of  a  letter  from  Col.  Tupper,  who  had 
the  general  command  of  the  galleys,  will  inform  Congress 
of  the  engagement  between  them  and  the  ships  of  war  up 
the  North  river,  on  Saturday  evening,  and  of  the  damage 
we  sustained.  What  injury  was  done  to  the  ships  1  cannot 
ascertain.  It  is  said  they  were  hulled  several  times  by  our 
shot.     All  accounts  agree  that  our  officers  and  men,  during 


222  BENJAMIN    TUPPER. 

the  whole  of  the  affair,  behaved  with  great  spirit  and  bra- 
very. The  damage  done  to  the  galleys  shows,  beyond  ques- 
tion, that  they  had  a  warm  time  of  it."  See  Washington's 
letter,  vol.  ii,  p.  170.  In  this  engagement  his  eldest  son, 
then  thirteen  years  of  age,  was  with  him. 

In  the  campaign  of  1777,  Col.  Tupper  served  with  his 
regiment  in  the  northern  army  under  Gen.  Gates.  What 
part  he  took  in  the  battle  of  Bemis'  hights  is  not  known; 
but  he  is  mentioned  by  Wilkinson,  in  his  memoir,  as  attend- 
ing a  council  with  Gen.  Larned,  Col.  Wilkinson,  Col.  Brooks, 
and  others,  the  day  after  that  battle,  in  regard  to  a  retreat 
of  the  left  wing  of  the  American  army,  which  had  been  pre- 
cipitated on  the  enemy  when  they  held  a  strong  position 
across  the  Fishkill.  The  left  wing,  according  to  the  sugges- 
tion of  Wilkinson,  fell  back  half  a  mile,  which  position  was 
held  until  the  surrender  of  Burgoyne. 

In  1778,  Col.  Tupper  served  under  Gen.  Washington,  and 
was  in  the  battle  of  Monmouth,  June  28th,  on  which  occa- 
sion he  had  his  horse  killed  under  him. 

In  1780,  he  had  charge  of  the  work  of  preparing  and 
stretching  a  chain  across  the  Hudson  at  West  Point.  The 
work  was  completed  in  April,  and  placed  in  the  river  under 
his  direction. 

In  May,  1781,  Col.  Tupper  returned  to  his  family  on  fur- 
lough. While  at  home  he  took  an  important  part  in  dis- 
persing a  mob  arising  out  of  the  arrest  and  trial  of  one 
Samuel  Eli,  for  high  treason,  at  Northampton. 

During  the  campaign  of  1781,  the  Indian  and  Tory  refu- 
gees threatened  the  northern  frontier  of  New  York,  on  the 
Mohawk  and  Lake  George.  A  regiment  from  Massachu- 
setts was  sent  up  into  that  quarter.  In  September  or  Octo- 
ber an  action  took  place  between  these  troops  and  some 
Tories  and  Indians,  in  which  the  major  of  the  regiment  was 
killed.     After  the  action,  Gen.  Stark,  who  commanded  on 


BENJAMIN    TUPPER.  223 

the  northern  frontier,  sent  out  a  scout  to  Lake  George.  The 
officers  reported  that  they  had  discovered  the  camp  of  a 
large  force,  by  their  fire.  Stark  immediately  sent  off 
an  express  to  head-quarters  for  a  reinforcement,  and  Col. 
Tupper's  regiment,  with  Col.  Kinston's,  of  New  York,  went 
up.  While  they  were  waiting  for  the  enemy,  the  news 
from  the  main  army  reached  them  that  Cornwallis  had  sur- 
rendered at  Yorktown.  With  this  event  the  war  was  in  effect 
closed.  Col.  Tupper's  regiment,  however,  remained  at  the 
north.  About  the  close  of  the  war  he  was  promoted  to  the 
rank  of  brigadier- general  by  brevet.  After  the  close  of  the 
war  he  returned  to  his  family  at  Chesterfield,  and  soon  after 
was  elected  by  his  town  as  their  representative  in  the  Legis- 
lature of  Massachusetts. 

During  the  darkest  period  of  the  Revolutionary  war,  Gen. 
Washington  had  turned  the  attention  of  officers  and  soldiers 
to  the  valley  of  the  Ohio,  as  a  place  of  refuge  to  which 
they  might  retire,  should  the  British  army  be  successful 
against  them.  The  result  of  that  war  rendered  such  a  re- 
treat unnecessary ;  notwithstanding,  many  of  the  officers 
and  soldiers  of  the  army  looked  to  the  west  as  a  retiring 
place  for  themselves  and  their  families,  after  a  war  of  eight 
years.  Among  the  most  prominent  of  this  class  was  Gen. 
Tupper.  Indeed,  in  the  foresight  of  Gen.  Rufus  Putnam 
and  himself,  the  enterprise  of  the  settlement  at  Marietta 
had  its  origin. 

The  ordinance  of  1785  provided  for  a  survey  of  a  portion 
of  the  lands  northwest  of  the  river  Ohio.  In  the  summer 
of  that  year  the  first  regiment  of  United  States  troops,  or 
one  battalion  of  them,  had  taken  post  at  the  mouth  of  the 
Muskingum,  under  the  command  of  Maj.  Doughty,  and 
erected  a  fort,  which  received  the  name  of  Fort  Harmer. 
In  that  year  Gen.  Rufus  Putnam  had  been  appointed  to 
command  the  survey  of  a  portion  of  the  lands  in  Ohio,  but 


224  BENJAMIN    T  UPPER. 

being  otherwise  engaged,  Gen.  Tupper  was  appointed  in  his 
place.  In  the  summer  of  that  year  he  came  as  far  west  as 
Pittsburg.  The  condition  of  the  Indian  tribes  prevented  the 
execution  of  that  work  until  the  treaty  made  by  Gen.  Par- 
sons, and  others,  on  the  Miami,  in  January,  1786.  Gen. 
Tupper  returned  to  Massachusetts  in  the  winter  of  1785-6, 
but  left  again  for  the  west  in  June,  1786,  with  his  eldest  son, 
Maj.  Anselm  Tupper.  That  season  the  survey  of  the  seven 
ranges  was  completed,  under  his  direction.  During  that 
season  he  visited  Maj.  Doughty,  at  Fort  Harmer. 

On  Gen.  Tupper's  return  from  his  first  visit  to  the  west, 
he  visited  his  friend,  Gen.  Rufus  Putnam,  then  residing  at 
Rutland.  In  the  language  of  another,  "A  night  of  friendly 
offices  and  conference  between  them,  gave  at  the  dawn  a 
development  to  the  cherished  hope  and  purpose  of  Gen. 
Tupper.  They  united  in  a  publication  which  appeared  in 
the  public  papers  of  New  England,  on  the  25th  of  January, 
1786,  headed « Information,'  dated  January  10th,  1786,  signed 
Rufus  Putnam,  Benjamin  Tupper." 

As  the  result  of  this  conference  and  address,  the  Ohio 
Company  was  formed.  Dr.  M.  Cutter,  in  connection  with 
Winthrop  Sargent,  was  appointed  to  negotiate  a  contract 
with  Congress  for  land.  At  the  third  meeting  of  the  com- 
pany at  Boston,  August  29th,  1787,  Dr.  Cutter  reported  that 
the  contract  had  been  completed. 

The  spirit  of  disorganization  which  had  manifested  itself 
in  Massachusetts  in  1781,  was  not  entirely  eradicated;  on 
the  contrary,  it  made  its  appearance  in  a  more  formidable 
and  extensive  manner  in  1786-7,  in  what  is  termed  Shays' 
insurrection.  The  only  officers  of  the  Revolutionary  army 
engaged  in  this  affair  were  Shays,  who  had  been  a  captain 
in  Gen.  Putnam's  regiment,  Capt.  Wiley,  and  Ensign  Day. 
Each  of  them  had  a  party,  and  their  aggregate  force 
amounted  to  about  two  thousand  men.    When  Gen.  Tupper 


BENJAMIN    TUPPER.  225 

returned  from  the  west,  after  completing  the  survey  of 
the  seven  ranges,  this  insurrection  had  assumed  a  formida- 
ble aspect.  Immediately  on  his  return  he  took  an  active 
part  in  putting  it  down.  The  duty  of  calling  out  the  militia 
to  suppress  this  rebellion,  devolved  on  Gen.  Shepard,  who 
acted  under  the  orders  of  the  governor.  Gen.  Tupper  of- 
fered his  services  to  him,  and  acted  in  the  capacity  of  volun- 
tary aid.  By  his  advice,  and  through  his  influence,  the  plan 
of  calling  out  the  militia  by  drafts  or  in  mass  was  abandoned, 
and  that  of  calling  for  volunteers  adopted.  This  was  a 
measure  of  the  first  importance,  as  it  served  to  distinguish 
between  the  friends  of  the  government  and  those  who  were 
secretly  infected  with  the  spirit  of  rebellion.  Under  this 
plan,  out  of  a  company  in  Chesterfield,  fifteen  to  eighteen 
offered  their  services.  In  the  northern  part  of  Hampshire 
county,  an  entire  regiment  was  organized  for  this  service, 
to  meet  at  Chesterfield.  Gen.  Tupper  had  been  appointed 
a  justice  of  the  peace  about  two  years  previous.  His  ef- 
forts, in  connection  with  an  address  to  the  people,  which  he 
had  made  a  short  time  before,  combined  with  the  presence 
of  the  volunteers,  had  made  a  favorable  impression  on 
many  persons  of  good  standing.  While  the  regiment  raised 
in  the  northern  part  of  the  county  were  being  assembled  at 
Chesterfield,  Gen.  Tupper,  as  magistrate,  administered  the 
oath  of  allegiance,  as  prescribed  by  the  laws  of  the  state, 
to  many  of  the  people.  This  was  also  a  measure  which 
served  to  distinguish  the  friends  of  law  from  the  mob. 

The  immediate  object  of  Shays  and  his  party  was  to  get 
possession  of  the  arms  and  public  stores  at  Springfield.  At 
that  point,  therefore,  the  troops  raised  by  the  state  were  con- 
centrated. Gen.  Tupper,  after  his  arrival  at  Springfield, 
acting  under  the  orders  of  Gen.  Shepard,  took  charge  of  the 
organization  of  the   different  companies   as   they  arrived. 

He  ordered  the  different  fragments  of  companies  into  regular 
15 


226  BENJAMIN    TUPPER. 

order,  and  officered  them  out  of  the  best  officers  on  the 
ground.     He  also  organized  a  small  troop  of  horse,  under 
Capt.  Buffington ;  and  selected  all  who  were  in  any  man- 
ner acquainted  with  artillery  duty,  adding  others  to  them, 
and  had  them  all  regularly  trained  every  day.     The  men 
were  all  armed  from  the  arsenal,  the  arms  being  there  in 
good  order,  and  all  things  were  put  in  the  best  possible  or- 
der for  defense.     Shays  was  not,  however,  in  any  hurry  to 
make  an  attack,  as  he  wished  to  increase  his  force.     Gen. 
Shepard's  orders  from  the  governor,  were  simply  to  defend 
the  stores;  however,  he  made  no  effort  to  disturb  any  of 
Shays'  men.     The  consequence  was  that  Shays'  different 
parties  collected  around  Gen,  Shepard's  camp,  and  cut  off 
his  supplies  from  the  country.     In  the  meantime,  Gen.  Lin- 
coln had  collected  a  body  of  men  at  Bristol,  to  aid  Gen. 
Shepard.     Two  weeks  elapsed  before  any  movement  was 
made  by  Gen.  Lincoln.    An  express  was  sent  to  him,  to  in- 
form him  of  the  situation  of  Gen.  Shepard.     When  the 
express  reached  Gen.  Lincoln,  only  a  part  of  his  troops 
were  ready  to  march,  but  he  immediately  pushed  on  one 
division,  by  forced  marches;  but  before  they  reached  Spring- 
field, Shays  had  made  his  attack,  and  been  defeated.     By 
some  means  Capt.  Buffington  had  intercepted  a  letter  from 
Shays  to  some  of  his  subordinates,  directing  the  manner  of 
attack.     On  obtaining  this  letter,  Gen.  Tupper  took  imme- 
diate measures  to  fortify  the  camp  by  log  forts,  commenced 
like  block-houses,  at  each  point  of  attack,  and  three  brush 
forts  as  outworks.     This  was  done  with  great  promptness 
and  dispatch.     In  the  meantime,  the  troops  were  supplied 
with  provisions  by  the  people  of  Springfield. 

Shays  finally  advanced  to  attack  Gen.  Shepard.  He  was 
repeatedly  warned  not  to  approach  any  nearer;  but  he 
treated  all  these  messages  not  only  with  neglect,  but  con- 
tempt.    Cannon  were  first  fired  over  his  column,  but  this 


BENJAMIN    TUPPER.  22? 

was  disregarded.  At  last,  a  field-piece  was  brought  to  bear 
upon  Shays'  advance,  and  the  first  shot  killed  four  of  his 
men.  This  was  a  more  effectual  hint.  They  immediately 
recoiled,  broke  their  ranks,  and  fled.  They  were  rallied  by 
Shays,  at  Pelham,  where  he  remained  for  awhile.  In  con- 
sequence of  the  interception  of  the  letter  from  Shays  to 
some  of  his  officers,  which  fell  into  the  hands  of  Capt.  Buf- 
fington,  Wiley  and  Day,  of  Shays'  party,  were  not  engaged 
in  the  affair  at  Springfield.  Gen.  Lincoln  arrived  from  Bris- 
tol on  the  second  day  after  the  defeat  of  Shays,  and  took 
immediate  measures  to  dislodge  Day  from  West  Springfield, 
and  Wiley  from  Chickopee  bridge ;  but  before  the  movement 
could  be  made,  they  had  fallen  back,  and  joined  Shays  at 
Pelham.  Some  of  their  men  were  taken  prisoners  at  West 
Springfield.  Such  of  them  as  would  take  the  oath  of  alle- 
giance, were  sent  home,  and  the  rest  detained  as  prisoners. 
Shays  retreated  to  Petersham,  where  his  adherents  were 
finally  dispersed  by  Gen.  Lincoln.  Before  this,  however, 
Gen.  Putnam  made  an  ineffectual  attempt  to  withdraw 
Shays  from  his  party,  but  failed  to  accomplish  his  object. 
Shays  himself  appeared  disposed  to  listen  to  the  advice  of 
Gen.  Putnam,  but  he  informed  the  general  that  his  friends 
would  not  suffer  him  to  leave  them. 

Within  a  day  or  two  after  the  defeat  of  Shays  at  Spring- 
field, Gen.  Tupper  was  discharged,  and  returned  at  North- 
ampton, where  he  was  visited  by  many  of  his  old  friends. 
Known  also  as  having  visited  the  Ohio  country,  many  per- 
sons called  upon  him  to  inquire  about  the  lands,  rivers,  &c, 
of  the  valley  of  the  Ohio.  In  the  spring  he  went  to  Worcester 
to  see  Gen.  Putnam,  and  concert  measures  to  set  forward  the 
proposed  emigration  to  Ohio.  Dr.  Cutler  having  completed 
the  contract  for  lands,  the  first  thing  to  be  done  was  to  raise 
the  money  necessary  for  their  object.  Many  formidable  dif- 
ficulties which  attended  the  organization  of  the  company 


228  BENJAMIN    TUPPER. 

were  overcome,  and  Gen.  Tupper  began  his  own  arrange- 
ments for  moving  to  the  Ohio  in  the  summer  of  1787.  At 
that  period  wagon-makers  were  not  common,  even  in  New 
England.  One,  however,  was  obtained,  and  two  wagons 
were  built,  one  for  the  family,  the  other  for  their  baggage 
With  his  own  family,  including  that  of  Ichabod  Nye,  his  son- 
in-law,  that  of  Col.  Nathaniel  Cushing,  and  Maj.  Goodale, 
they  made  their  way  to  the  Ohio  river,  which  they  reached 
at  Wellsburg,  then  Buffalo,  where  they  were  joined  by  the 
family  of  Maj.  Coburn  and  his  son-in-law,  Andrew  Webster. 
These  families  formed,  in  fact,  the  first  settlers  of  Ohio,  and 
arrived  at  Marietta  on  the  9th  of  August,  1788.  The  men 
who  came  on  with  Gen.  Putnam,  had  none  of  them  families 
with  them,  and  had  been  previously  discharged. 

After  his  arrival  at  Marietta,  Gen.  Tupper  was  actively 
engaged  in  promoting  the  plans  and  interests  of  the  Ohio 
company,  being  intimately  associated  with  Gen.  Putnam  in 
the  management  of  its  affairs. 

On  the  9th  of  September,  1788,  the  first  civil  court  in  the 
Northwestern  Territory  was  held  at  Col.  Battelle's,  in 
Campus  Martins.  This  was  the  Court  of  Quarter  Sessions. 
Rnfus  Putnam  and  Benjamin  Tupper  were  justices  of  the 
quorum,  assisted  by  justices  of  the  bar. 

Judge  Putnam  gave  the  charge  to  the  grand  jury.  After 
one  or  two  sessions  Judge  Tupper  presided,  until  his  death, 
in  June,  1792. 

At  an  early  period  in  his  life,  Gen.  Tupper  made  a  pub- 
lic profession  of  the  Christian  religion,  by  uniting  with  the 
Congregational  church  at  Easton.  After  his  arrival  at  Ma- 
rietta, he  did  not  forget  his  obligation.  His  efforts  were 
directed  to  preserve  to  his  family  and  associates  the  ben- 
efits of  public  and  social  worship  of  God.  Before  the 
arrival  of  the  Rev.  Daniel  Story,  the  first  minister,  meet- 
ings for  social  worship  were  held  on  the  Sabbath.      The 


BENJAMIN    TUPPER.  229 

usual  place  of  worship  was  the  same  room  in  which  the 
first  court  was  held,  near  the  west  corner  of  the  stockade. 

Gen.  Tupper  had  seven  children,  three  sons  and  four 
daughters.  His  sons  were  Anselm,  Edward  White,  and  Ben- 
jamin Tupper. 

Maj.  Anselm  Tupper  died  at  Marietta  on  the  25th  of  De- 
cember, 1808.  Col.  Benjamin  Tupper  died  at  Putnam,  in 
February,  1815.  Gen.  Edward  W.  Tupper  died  at  Gallipolis, 
in  1823.  His  daughter,  Miss  Roso?na,  who  married  Gov. 
Winthrop  Sargeant,  died  at  Marietta,  in  1790.  Sophia,  who 
married  Nathaniel  Willys,  Esq.,  now  of  Conn.,  then  of  Mass., 
died  in  October,  1789.  Minerva  married  Col.  Ichabod  Nye, 
and  died  at  Marietta  in  April,  183G.  The  other  daughter 
died  young,  before  the  family  emigrated  to  Ohio.  The 
only  representative  of  the  family  bearing  the  family  name, 
is  Edward  W.  Tupper,  of  Putnam,  son  of  Benjamin  Tup- 
per, jun. 


COL.   EBENEZER    SPROAT. 

Col.  Ebenezer  Sproat  was  born  in  Middleborough,  Mass., 
in  the  year  1752.     He  was  the  son  of  Col.  Ebenezer  Sproat, 
a  respectable  yeoman,  who  owned  one  of  the  finest  farms 
in  that  vicinity,  with  a  large,  commodious  dwelling-house, 
which,  for  many  years  before,  and  during  the  Revolutionary 
war,  was  occupied  as  a  tavern.     Like  his  son,  he  was  an 
uncommonly  tall  and  portly  man.     He  was  a  colonel  in  the 
militia ;  and  the  venerable  John  Howland,  from  whom  many 
of  these  facts  were  derived,  says,  that  when  the  British  took 
possession  of  Newport  and  a  part  of  Rhode  Island,  he  per- 
formed a  torn-  of  duty  with  his  regiment  in  Providence.     A 
brother  of  Ebenezer  was  a  lawyer,  and  settled  in  Taunton. 
His  early  education  must  have  been  the  best  the  schools 
afforded  at  that  day,  as  hewaa  familiar  with  the  principles 
and  practice  of  surveying.     During  his  boyhood  and  youth, 
he  assisted  his  father  in  cultivating  the  farm;  and  when  the 
war  of  Independence  commenced,  it  found  him  in  the  prime 
of  manhood,  with  a  frame  invigorated  by  the  toils  of  agri- 
culture, and  fitted,  by  labor,  to  undergo  all  the  perils  and 
hardships  of  a  soldier's  life.    He  entered  the  service  as  cap- 
tain of  a  company,  and  soon  rose  to  the  post  of  major,  in 
the  tenth  regiment  of  the  Massachusetts  line,  commanded 
by  Col.  Shepherd.     In  1778,  Glover's  brigade  of  four  regi- 
ments was  stationed  at  Providence,  at  which  time  he  was  a 
lieutenant-colonel,  and  said  to  be  the  tallest  man  in  the  brig- 
ade, being  six  feet  and  four  inches  high,  with  limbs  formed 
in  nature's  most  perfect  model.    In  the  duties  of  his  station, 
he  excelled  as  much  as  in  size,  being  the  most  complete 


EBENEZER    SPEOAT.  231 

disciplinarian  in  the  brigade.  His  social  habits,  pleas- 
ant, agreeable  manners,  and  cheerful  disposition,  rendered 
him  a  general  favorite  with  the  officers,  as  well  as  with  the 
private  soldiers,  who  always  followed  with  alacrity,  wher- 
ever he  led.  Of  the  dangers  and  perils  of  the  war,  he 
partook  largely,  being  engaged  in  the  battles  of  Trenton, 
Princeton,  Monmouth,  and  many  others.  His  superior  tact 
and  excellence  in  discipline  attracted  the  notice  of  Gen. 
Steuben,  who  appointed  him  inspector  of  the  brigade,  which 
office  he  filled  with  great  credit  to  himself,  and  the  entire 
satisfaction  of  the  baron. 

Near  the  close  of  the  war,  he  was  engaged  in  the  follow- 
ing affair,  which  is  thus  related  by  Dr.  Thatcher,  in  his  jour- 
nal of  military  events :  "  In  the  mutiny  which  broke  out  in 
January,  1781,  in  the  New  Jersey  line,  stationed  at  Pomp- 
ton,  in  New  Jersey,  a  detachment  of  five  hundred  men  was 
ordered  out  to  suppress  it.  In  this  detachment  Col.  Sproat 
was  second  in  command,  and  Maj.  Oliver  one  of  the  field- 
officers.  The  distance  from  the  main  encampment  was 
thirty  or  forty  miles,  and  the  snow  two  feet  deep ;  it  took 
nearly  four  days  to  accomplish  the  march.  When  they 
came  in  sight  of  the  insurgents,  Gen.  Robert  Howe,  the 
commander,  ordered  his  men  to  load  their  arms;  and  as 
some  of  the  officers  distrusted  the  faithfulness  of  their  own 
men,  so  prevalent  was  disaffection  in  the  army,  that,  before 
making  the  attack,  he  harangued  the  troops  on  the  heinous- 
ness  of  the  crime  of  mutiny,  and  the  absolute  necessity  of 
military  subordination;  that  the  mutineers  must  be  brought 
to  an  unconditional  submission.  The  men  entered  fully  into 
the  patriotic  spirit  of  their  officers,  and  marching  with  the 
greatest  alacrity,  surrounded  the  huts  so  as  to  admit  of  no 
escape.  Gen.  Howe  ordered  his  aid-de-camp  to  command 
the  mutineers  to  parade  in  front  of  their  huts,  unarmed,  in 
five  minutes.    Observing  them  to  hesitate,  a  second  message 


232  EBENEZER    SPROAT. 

was  sent,  when  they  instantly  obeyed,  and  paraded  in  a  line, 
unarmed,  two  or  three  hundred  in  number.  The  general 
then  ordered  three  of  the  ringleaders  to  be  selected  for  con- 
dign punishment.  These  unfortunate  men  were  tried  on 
the  spot,  Col.  Sproat  being  president  of  the  court-martial, 
standing  on  the  snow,  and  they  were  sentenced  to  be  shot 
immediately.  Twelve  of  the  most  active  mutineers  were 
selected  for  their  executioners.  This  was  a  most  painful 
task,  and  some  of  them,  when  ordered  to  load  their  guns, 
shed  tears.  Two  of  them  suffered  death  on  the  spot;  the 
third  one  was  pardoned,  as  being  less  guilty,  on  the  repre- 
sentation of  their  officers.  Never  were  men  more  com- 
pletely humbled  and  penitent.  Tears  of  sorrow  and  of  joy 
streamed  from  their  eyes,  and  each  one  seemed  to  congrat- 
ulate himself  that  his  forfeited  life  had  been  spared.  The 
general  then  addressed  the  men  in  a  very  pathetic  and  im- 
pressive manner :  showing  the  enormity  of  their  crime,  and 
the  inevitable  ruin  to  the  cause  of  the  country,  to  which  it 
would  lead.  They  remained  true  and  faithful  soldiers  to 
the  end  of  the  war." 

This  was  a  sorrowful  and  heart-rending  duty  to  Col. 
Sproat:  with  his  tender  feelings  and  love  for  all  engaged 
in  the  cause  of  freedom,  the  effect  must  have  been  great. 
The  time  made  it  still  more  impressive :  the  depth  of  winter, 
the  white  snow,  an  emblem  of  innocence,  crimsoned  with 
the  blood  of  his  fellow-soldiers,  shed  by  their  own  comrades, 
and  not  in  battle,  rendered  the  sight  one  not  to  be  forgotten 
while  life  should  last.  But  order  and  military  subordination 
demanded  this  sacrifice  to  duty,  and  he  could  not  retreat. 
These  men  had  served  their  country  faithfully,  probably  for 
three  or  four  years ;  had  suffered  hunger,  and  cold,  and 
nakedness ;  had  sometimes  been  without  any  food,  and  for 
weeks  lived  on  a  half  or  a  third  of  a  ration  of  the  poorest 
kind  of  meat.     Their  wages  were  often  withheld,  and  when 


EBENEZER    SPROAT.  233 

paid  at  all,  were  in  a  depreciated  government  paper,  thirty 
dollars  of  which,  at  this  time,  were  worth  only  one  in  specie, 
and  there  was  little  prospect  of  its  being  any  better.  Some 
of  them  had  families  at  home  suffering  like  themselves. 
That  men  should  become  desperate  under  such  circumstances 
is  human  nature ;  the  greatest  wonder  was  that  the  whole 
army  had  not  revolted  and  turned  their  arms  against  Con- 
gress until  they  had  redressed  their  grievances. 

It  is  greatly  to  the  credit  of  New  England  that  no  revolts 
or  mutinies  took  place  amongst  her  troops.  The  strict  prin- 
ciples of  obedience  impressed  in  early  childhood  on  her  sons 
by  their  Puritan  fathers,  gave  them  a  Spartan  cast  of  char- 
acter, while  the  intelligence  imparted  to  their  minds  by  their 
common  schools,  gave  the  whole  population  a  decided  su- 
periority of  intellect  over  the  common  soldiers  of  the  mid- 
dle and  southern  states.  Nearly  every  man  was  a  patriot, 
and  they  suffered  little  or  nothing  compared  with,  these 
states,  from  the  effects  of  Tory  principles,  which,  were  pro- 
ductive of  more  real  suffering  to  the  inhabitants,  where  they 
prevailed,  than  all  the  ravages  of  the  British  armies.  Well 
might  Washington  exclaim,  on  those  trying  occasions,  "  God 
bless  the  New  England  troops ! "  A  mighty  debt  of  grati- 
tude is  still  owing  to  the  memory  of  these  patriotic  men, 
who  stood  firm  under  all  these  trials,  and  accomplished  the 
work  of  independence  in  spite  of  foes  without  and  foes 
within.  Their  contests  with  poverty  and  want  were  five 
times  more  severe  than  all  their  battles  with  the  enemy. 

Having  served  through  the  war  with  credit  to  himself  and 
the  regiment  to  which  he  belonged,  and  witnessed  the  ac- 
knowledgment of  the  freedom  of  his  country  by  the  British, 
and  the  reception  of  the  United  States  as  an  independent 
sovereignty  amongst  the  nations  of  the  earth,  he  retired 
satisfied,  to  the  pursuits  of  private  life.  As  a  proof  of  his 
attachment  to  the  common  soldiers,  and  all  who  were  or  had 


234  EBENEZER    SPROAT. 

been  engaged  in  fighting  the  enemies  of  hig  country,  the 
following  anecdote  is  related. 

Col.  Sproat  was,  all  his  life,  fond  of  keen  repartee,  and  a 
good  joke,  whenever  an  opportunity  to  exercise  it  occurred. 
At  an  early  period  of  the  war,  while  he  was  a  captain,  he 
was  at  home  on  a  short  furlough.  His  father,  as  has  been 
before  noticed,  kept  a  house  of  entertainment,  more  espe- 
cially for  eating  than  drinking.  "While  there,  three  private 
soldiers,  on  their  way  home  from  the  army,  called  for  a  cold 
luncheon.  His  mother  set  on  the  table  some  bread  and 
cheese,  with  the  remains  of  the  family  dinner,  which  Eben- 
ezer  thought  rather  scanty  fare  for  hungry  men,  and  espe- 
cially as  the  bones  were  already  pretty  bare.  He  felt  a 
little  vexed,  that  the  defenders  of  the  country  were  not 
more  bountifully  supplied.  After  satisfying  their  appetites, 
they  inquired  of  him,  how  much  was  to  pay  ?  He  replied 
he  did  not  know,  but  would  ask  his  mother;  so,  going  to 
the  kitchen  door,  where  she  was  busy  with  her  domestic  con- 
cerns, he  inquired,  "  Mother,  how  much  is  it  worth  to  pick 
those  bones?"  She  replied,  "About  a  shilling,  I  suppose." 
He  returned  to  the  room,  and  taking  from  the  drawer  in  the 
bar,  three  shillings,  with  a  smiling  face,  handed  each  man 
one,  wishing  them  a  good  day  and  pleasant  journey  home. 
The  soldiers  departed,  much  gratified  with  their  kind  usage. 
Soon  after  they  had  gone,  his  mother  came  in,  and  asked 
Ebenezer  what  he  had  done  with  the  money  for  their  din- 
ners? In  apparent  amazement,  he  exclaimed,  "Money!  did 
I  not  ask  you  what  it  was  worth  to  pick  those  bones ;  and 
you  replied,  a  shilling?  I  thought  it  little  enough  for  such 
a  job,  and  handed  them  the  money  from  the  till,  and  they 
are  gone."  It  was  such  a  good  joke,  and  so  characteristic 
of  her  favorite  son,  that  she  bore  it  without  complaining. 

After  the  close  of  the  war,  he  lived,  for  some  time,  in 
Providence,   employing  himself  occasionally   at  surveying. 


EBENEZER    SPROAT.  235 

Here  he  became  acquainted  with  Miss  Catharine  Whipple, 
the  daughter  of  Com.  Abraham  Whipple,  and  was  united 
with  her  in  marriage.  Her  father  presented  her,  as  a  mar- 
riage portion,  his  own  dwelling-house  and  lot,  in  Westmin- 
ster street,  Providence,  and  retired  to  his  farm  in  Cranston, 
a  few  miles  distant. 

Soon  after  this  marriage,  he  entered  into  merchandise; 
purchasing  a  large  store  of  goods  from  Nightingale  and 
Clark,  a  noted  importing  house  of  that  day.  Being  entirely 
unacquainted  with  mercantile  affairs,  fond  of  company  and 
generous  living,  with  the  liberal  habits  of  a  soldier,  in  the 
full  vigor  of  life,  it  is  not  to  be  wondered  at,  if  he  did  not 
excel  in  trade,  as  he  had  done  in  military  matters.  Nothing 
can  be  more  unlike  than  the  two  callings ;  and  out  of  hun- 
dreds who  tried  it,  scarcely  one  succeeded.  He  had  no  taste 
for  his  new  business,  and  in  a  short  time  he  failed ;  swal- 
lowing up  his  wife's  patrimony,  as  well  as  his  own  resources. 

About  this  time,  1786,  Congress  ordered  the  first  surveys 
of  their  lands,  west  of  the  Ohio  river,  to  be  executed.  Seven 
ranges  of  townships,  beginning  on  the  Ohio,  at  the  western 
boundary  line  of  Pennsylvania,  were  directed  to  be  pre- 
pared for  market.  Col.  Sproat  was  appointed  the  surveyor 
for  the  state  of  Rhode  Island,  and  commenced  operations 
in  the  fall  of  that  year.  The  hostility  of  the  Indians  pre- 
vented the  completion  of  the  work,  and  his  range  was  not 
finished  until  the  following  season. 

In  1789,  the  Ohio  Company  was  formed,  and  he  was  ap- 
pointed one  of  the  surveyors  of  their  new  purchases,  for 
which  his  hardy  frame  and  great  resolution  eminently  fitted 
him.  In  the  autumn  of  1789,  they  resolved  to  send  on  a 
company  of  boat-builders  and  artificers  to  the  head  waters 
of  the  Ohio  at  Simrel's  ferry,  for  the  purpose  of  preparing 
boats  for  the  transportation  of  the  provision  and  men,  to 
commence  the  colony  in  the  spring.     Col.  Sproat  led  one  of 


23G  EBENEZER    SPROAT. 

these  detachments.  On  their  way  out  the  following  incident 
occurred,  to  lighten  the  tediousness  of  the  way  :  The  party 
arrived  at  the  house  of  a  thrifty  German  farmer,  near  the 
foot  of  the  mountains,  on  Saturday  night.  He  received 
them  with  the  greatest  hospitality,  supplying  all  their  wants 
with  cheerfulness,  and  when  Monday  morning  arrived,  wished 
them  a  favorable  journey ;  and  so  pleased  was  he  with  his 
wayfaring  acquaintance,  that  he  refused  any  pay.  Col. 
Sproat  not  only  returned  him  his  sincere  thanks,  but  felt 
grateful  for  his  kindness.  The  hospitable  German  had  a 
beautiful  little  dog,  to  which  he  was  much  attached  and 
greatly  valued.  One  of  the  laboring  hands,  named  Danton, 
had  the  baseness  to  put  him  into  the  wagon,  unknown  to 
any  one.  When  they  stopped  again  for  the  night,  a  mes- 
senger placed  in  the  hands  of  the  colonel  the  following  note 
from  his  German  friend:  "Meeshter  Col.  Sproat,  I  dinks 
I  use  you  well ;  den  for  what  you  steal  my  little  tog?"  The 
colonel  was  much  mortified  and  greatly  enraged  when  the 
dog  was  found,  but  met  with  an  opportunity  of  sending  him 
back  the  following  morning,  with  a  polite,  explanatory  note, 
to  his  master.  Danton  never  outgrew  the  infamy  of  this 
nefarious  act,  but  had  it  often  cast  at  him  in  his  future  life. 
The  detachment,  after  great  fatigue,  reached  their  desti- 
nation, and  spent  the  remainder  of  the  winter  in  building  a 
large  boat  called  the  May-flower,  in  remembrance  of  the 
vessel  that  transported  their  forefathers  to  a  new  home,  as 
this  was  to  convey  the  pilgrims  of  the  west  to  their  home  in 
the  wilderness.  The  party  arrived  at  the  mouth  of  the 
Muskingum  on  the  7th  of  April,  1788.  Col.  Sproat  imme- 
diately commenced  his  labors  as  surveyor  for  the  company, 
and  continued  them  until  the  breaking  out  of  the  war  in 
January,  1791,  when  all  further  operations  in  the  woods  were 
suspended.  Many  of  the  savages  visited  the  new  settlement 
to  see  the  Bostonians,  as  they  were  called,  and  to  exchange 


EBENEZER    SPEOAT.  237 

their  meat,  skins,  and  peltry,  for  goods  with  the  traders  at 
Marietta  and  Fort  Harmer.  The  tall,  commanding  person 
of  Col.  Sproat,  soon  attracted  their  attention,  and  they  gave 
him  the  name  of  Hetuck,  or  Big  Buckeye.  From  this, 
no  doubt,  originated  the  name  of  Buckeye,  now  applied  to 
the  natives  of  Ohio,  as  the  phrase  was  familiar  to  all  the 
early  settlers  of  Marietta. 

On  the  arrival  of  Gov.  St.  Clair  and  the  organization  of 
the  county  of  Washington,  he  commissioned  him  as  sheriff, 
which  post  he  held  for  fourteen  years,  or  until  the  formation 
of  the  state  government,  when  a  change  in  the  political 
measures  of  the  administration  threw  him  out  of  office.  He 
was  also,  at  the  same  time,  commissioned  as  colonel  of  the 
militia.  In  the  fall  of  1790,  just  before  the  commencement 
of  the  attack  on  the  settlements,  he  was  authorized  by  Gen. 
Knox,  secretary  of  war,  to  enlist  a  company  of  soldiers  for 
the  defense  of  the  colony,  appoint  rangers,  and  superintend 
the  military  affairs  of  the  United  States  in  Washington 
county,  with  the  pay  of  a  major,  which  post  he  filled  with 
fidelity,  to  the  satisfaction  of  the  settlers  and  the  government. 
His  experience  in  military  matters,  was  of  great  advantage 
to  the  inhabitants,  while  his  bold,  undaunted  manner,  in- 
spired them  with  courage  in  times  of  greatest  danger. 

His  family  arrived  here,  with  Com.  Whipple,  in  1789.  It 
consisted  of  his  wife  and  one  daughter.  After  the  close  of 
the  war  she  married  Solomon  Sibley,  Esq.,  of  Detroit,  who 
commenced  the  practice  of  law  in  Marietta. 

As  sheriff  of  the  county,  he  opened  the  first  court  ever 
held  in  the  territory,  now  Ohio,  marching  with  his  drawn 
sword  and  wand  of  office,  at  the  head  of  the  judges,  gov- 
ernor, secretary,  &c,  preceded  by  a  military  escort,  from 
the  Point  to  the  northwest  block-house  of  Campus  Mar- 
tius,  on  the  2d  day  of  September,  1788.  It  was  an  august 
spectacle,  conducted  with  great  dignity  and  decorum,  making 


238  EBENEZER    SPItOAT. 

a  deep  impression  on  the  red  men  of  the  forest,  many  of 
whom  witnessed  the  ceremonies,  and  at  this  time  bestowed 
on  him  the  Indian  name,  by  which  they  ever  after  desig- 
nated him. 

During  the  whole  period  of  the  war  he  performed  his  du- 
ties as  superintendent  of  the  military  posts  at  Belpre, 
Waterford,  and  Marietta,  and  paymaster  to  the  rangers 
and  colonial  troops.  These  certificates  of  dues  for  services 
rendered  the  Ohio  Company — for  they  too  kept  up  a  mili- 
tary band  at  their  own  expense — as  well  as  the  United 
States,  served  in  place  of  money,  and  formed  nearly  all  the 
currency  afloat  during  the  five  years  of  the  war.  They 
were  generally  for  small  sums,  and  taken  in  payment  for 
goods  at  the  stores,  who  received  their  cash  for  them  in 
Philadelphia,  and  also  passed  as  a  tender  between  the  in- 
habitants. Had  it  not  been  for  these  assignats,  the  suf- 
ferings of  the  settlers  would  have  been  much  greater.  It  is 
said  by  Col.  Convers,  who  resided  at  Waterford,  that  he  did 
not  believe  that  settlement,  in  1792,  could  have  raised  ten 
dollars  in  specie  amongst  them.  They  had  little  or  nothing 
to  sell,  and  experienced  the  greatest  difficulty  in  producing 
the  common  necessaries  of  life.  The  Ohio  Company  ex- 
pended more  than  eleven  thousand  dollars  of  their  funds  in 
defending  the  settlements,  which  was  never  repaid  them  by 
the  United  States,  as  it  in  justice  ought  to  have  been. 

In  disposition  and  temperament,  Col.  Sproat  was  cheer- 
ful and  animated;  exceedingly  fond  of  company  and  jovial 
entertainments ;  much  attached  to  horses  and  dogs ;  always 
riding  in  hLs  long  journeys  over  the  country,  then  embra- 
cing half  the  state  of  Ohio,  some  of  the  finest  horses  the 
country  afforded,  and  generally  accompanied  by  two  or  three 
large  dogs,  who,  next  to  horses,  shared  largely  in  his  favors. 
In  executing  the  sterner  requisitions  of  the  law  among  the 
poorer  classes  of  society,  he  has  been  often  known  to  furnish 


EBENEZER   SPROAT.  239 

the  money  himself  for  the  payment  of  the  debt,  rather 
than  distress  an  indigent  family.  His  heart,  although  full 
of  merriment  and  playfulness,  overflowed  with  kindness. 
He  had  no  enemies  but  those  of  a  political  kind.  In  per- 
sonal appearance,  he  was  remarkable  for  his  tall,  majestic 
figure,  and  exact  proportions;  towering  like  a  Saul,  a  full 
head  above  the  hight  of  other  men. 

The  office  of  sheriff  was  filled  with  great  dignity  and 
propriety,  commanding  by  his  noble  presence  and  military 
bearing  the  strictest  silence  and  decorum  from  the  audience, 
while  the  court  were  sitting;  and  when  on  duty,  wearing  his 
sword  as  an  emblem  of  justice,  as  well  as  of  execution  in 
fulfilling  the  requirements  of  law.  This  badge  of  office  was 
very  appropriate,  and  was  kept  up  in  several  of  the  states 
for  many  years  after  the  war,  but,  like  many  other  good  and 
wholesome  usages,  has  given  way  under  the  prevalence  of 
ultra  democratic  principles. 

He  wyas  a  Federalist  of  the  old  school,  warmly  attached 
to  his  country  and  to  the  precepts  taught  by  his  venerated 
commander,  Gen.  Washington,  in  the  times  which  tried 
men's  souls. 

For  several  years  of  the  latter  part  of  his  life  he  devoted 
his  leisure  time  to  cultivating  the  earth,  for  which  he  ever 
retained  a  strong  predilection,  formed  in  early  youth.  He 
was  fond  of  the  rougher  kinds  of  labor,  such  as  driving  a 
team  of  young  oxen,  and  in  ascending  a  hill  with  a  load 
beyond  the  strength  of  his  team,  delighted  in  applying  his 
shoulder  to  the  wheel,  and  helping  them  out  of  the  difficulty. 
Gardening  was  another  favorite  pursuit.  The  bank  of  Ma- 
rietta now  occupies  one  corner  of  his  garden,  which  covered 
nearly  an  acre.  It  was  laid  out  in  squares  and  spacious 
walks,  very  tastefully,  embracing  ornamental  shrubs,  and 
all  the  varieties  of  fruits  cultivated  in  the  middle  states. 
An  ancient  pear  tree  is  still  standing,  planted  by  his  hand. 


240  EBENEZER    SPROAT. 

The  garden  was  kept  in  nice  order  by  an  old  black  woman 
named  Suke,  who  outlived  him  many  years,  but  always 
spoke  of  her  kind,  old  Master  Sproiit,  in  terms  of  exalted 
admiration. 

The  duelling  house  is  now  owned  by  Capt.  Daniel  Green, 
and  is  a  specimen  of  New  England  architecture  very  cred- 
itable to  the  period  in  which  it  was  built,  nearly  fifty 
years  ago. 

He  died  suddenly,  in  the  full  vigor  of  health,  in  February, 
1805,  having  his  oft-repeated  wish  of  a  sudden  exit  fully 
answered.  His  memory  is  held  in  grateful  remembrance 
by  all  who  knew  him. 


CAPT.     JONATHAN    DEVOL. 

From  the  earliest  ages,  and  even  from  the  first  invention 
of  letters,  it  has  been  one  of  the  most  pleasing  duties  of  the 
historian  to  record  the  lives  and  actions  of  distinguished 
and  useful  men.  In  this  way  a  kind  of  immortality  is  given 
to  their  names,  and  they  live  again  amidst  the  descend- 
ants of  future  generations ;  their  good  deeds  stimulating 
others  to  imitate  their  virtuous  and  praiseworthy  examples. 
Abounding,  as  the  first  colony  of  the  Ohio  Company  set- 
tlers did,  with  excellent  men,  in  numbers  and  qualifications 
far  exceeding  those  of  any  other  settlement  in  the  valley  of 
the  Ohio,  yet  few  of  them  were  more  deserving  than  the 
subject  of  the  following  memoir. 

Jonathan  Devol  was  born  at  Tiverton,  in  the  colony  of 
Rhode  Island,  in  the  year  1756.  His  ancestors  were  of 
French  descent.  His  father  settled  in  Rhode  Island,  and 
was  a  dealer  in  West  India  produce.  The  mother  belonged 
to  the  sect  called  Quakers,  who  in  that  day  composed  a 
large  portion  of  the  inhabitants ;  the  mild  sway  of  Roger 
Williams  encouraging  perfect  freedom  of  conscience,  and 
good-will  to  all  mankind.  The  family  was  quite  numerous, 
he  being  the  youngest  of  seven  sons. 

Schools  of  learning,  before  the  Revolutionary  war,  were 
of  rare  occurrence,  and  his  whole  education  was  embraced 
in  one  year's  schooling.  It  fortunately  happened  that  his 
father  possessed  a  small  library  of  choice  books,  from  the 
perusal  of  which  he  reaped  valuable  instruction,  and  ac- 
quired a  taste  for  reading  that  never  forsook  him  in  after 

life.     When  quite  young  he  learned  the  trade  of  a  ship 
16 


242  JONATHAN    DEVOL. 

carpenter,  and  in  manhood  became  quite  noted  for  his  skill 
in  constructing  boats  of  beautiful  model  and  rapid  sailing. 
One  of  his  boats  took  a  purse  of  fifty  guineas,  in  a 
race  between  some  gentlemen  amateurs  of  Newport  and 
Providence,  where  this  manly  sport  was  brought  to  great 
perfection. 

When  the  war  for  independence  broke  out  between  Great 
Britain  and  the  colonies,  he  took  the  side  of  his  country, 
and  before  he  was  twenty  years  old,  received  a  commission 
as  ensign.  In  October,  1775,  on  the  first  call  for  troops  for 
the  interior  defense  of  the  colony,  he  marched  with  a  part 
of  a  company  of  men,  and  joined  the  regiment  to  which  he 
belonged,  on  the  hights  back  of  the  town  of  Newport.  In 
December  following,  he  was  appointed  to  the  same  rank,  in 
a  regiment  enlisted  for  a  year.  In  June,  177G,  he  was  com- 
missioned as  a  lieutenant  in  the  continental  service.  In 
December  following,  he  wras  promoted  to  the  adjutancy  of 
the  first  regiment  in  a  brigade  raised  to  repel  the  British, 
who  had  invaded  Rhode  Island. 

In  July,  1777,  he  resigned  that  post,  in  consequence  of 
being  superseded  in  the  promotion  of  the  adjutant  of  the 
second  regiment,  to  the  vacancy  of  brigade-major,  to  his 
wrong,  and  retired  to  private  life,  as  any  spirited  man  would 
have  done,  in  a  similar  case.  This  disregard  to  the  military 
rates  of  promotion,  in  the  early  years  of  the  war,  was  a 
source  of  heart-burnings  and  of  serious  injury  to  the  cause, 
until  corrected  by  more  just  views  of  this  important  spring 
in  the  service. 

In  September  of  the  same  year,  he  acted  as  a  volunteer 
in  the  badly  conducted  expedition  of  Gen.  Spencer,  against 
the  British  in  Rhode  Island.  After  the  evacuation  of  the 
island,  in  January,  1780,  he  retired  to  Tiverton,  and  was 
appointed  to  a  captaincy  in  the  militia.  While  occupied  in 
the  busy  scenes  of  that  eventful  period,  he  was  often  selected 


JONATHAN    DEVOL.  243 

to  conduct  hazardous  expeditions  above  his  rank,  and  for 
several  services  of  this  kind,  received  the  thanks  of  the  com- 
manding general  of  the  troops  on  this  station.  Amongst 
other  dangerous  exploits,  was  the  following,  of  cutting  out 
a  British  brig  from  under  the  stern  of  a  twenty  gun  ship,  in 
the  outer  harbor  of  Newport. 

On  the  evening  of  the  11th  of  April,  1776,  there  arrived 
in  the  roadstead  of  Newport,  a  sloop-of-war  of  twenty  guns, 
a  transport-ship  of  eighteen  guns,  with  a  brig  and  sloop  as 
tenders ;  the  latter  were  moored  directly  under  their  sterns. 
A  plan  was  soon  arranged  for  making  an  attack  on  them 
with  the  row  galleys  then  in  port.  To  effect  this,  it  was  ne- 
cessary to  procure  a  party  of  volunteers  from  the  brigade, 
then  quartered  in  the  town  of  Newport.  Lieut.  Devol  was 
at  that  time  sick  in  bed,  with  an  attack  of  the  mumps ;  and 
nothing  but  the  certain  failure  of  the  measure,  from  the 
want  of  his  assistance,  could  have  induced  him  to  leave  his 
room.  In  a  short  time  he  procured  twenty  volunteers  to 
accompany  him  in  the  hazardous  attempt.  They  embarked 
on  board  the  galley  of  Capt.  Grimes,  the  commodore  of  the 
station,  about  eleven  o'clock,  in  a  dark,  rainy  night.  She 
was  worked  with  oars,  and  carried  one  long  eighteen- 
pounder.  The  captain  attempted  to  lay  the  galley  along- 
side the  brig,  intending  to  carry  her  by  boarding ;  but  the 
force  of  the  tide,  and  the  imperfection  of  the  human  vision 
in  the  darkness  of  the  night,  caused  the  galley  to  fall  upon 
her  quarter.  Lieut.  Devol,  at  the  head  of  his  boarders,  who 
stood  ready  to  spring  up  the  side  of  the  enemy,  as  soon  as 
the  vessels  came  in  contact,  now  mounted  over  her  quarter, 
followed  by  only  five  of  his  men,  the  others  being  prevented 
by  the  falling  off  of  the  galley,  before  they  could  get  on 
board.  While  in  the  act  of  climbing  over  the  quarter,  the 
sentinel  on  deck  hailed,  and  fired  his  musket  down  among 
the  assailants ;  the  ball  passed  very  near  the  head  of  Mr. 


244  JONATHAN    DEVOL. 

Devol,  who  instantly  returned  the  salute  with  one  of  hia 
pistols.  Followed  by  his  five  brave  men,  he  was  soon  on 
the  deck  of  the  brig,  and,  cutlass  in  hand,  drove  the  midship- 
man who  had  command,  with  ten  men,  below,  and  instantly 
fastened  the  hatches  down  upon  them.  The  next  act  was 
to  cut  loose  the  cable  and  get  their  prize  under  way.  In 
performing  this  service,  they  had  a  tedious  time;  for  the 
axe  and  the  carpenter  were  both  left  in  the  galley,  with  the 
residue  of  the  boarders.  In  this  dilemma,  recourse  was  had 
to  a  cutlass,  and  by  repeated  and  strenuous  hacks  in  the 
dark,  they,  at  length,  after  thirty  minutes,  divided  the  four- 
teen inch  cable  by  which  she  was  moored,  and  the  tide  soon 
put  her  in  motion.  In  the  meantime,  the  twenty  gun  ship 
had  got  under  way,  and  came  down  on  her  larboard  side,  to 
the  rescue  of  the  tender.  The  galley  had  now  recovered 
her  lost  ground  by  the  aid  of  her  sweeps,  and  came  up  on 
the  starboard  side,  just  as  the  cable  gave  way,  so  that  as 
the  prize  swung  round  she  fell  foul  of  the  galley.  The 
ship  all  this  time  kept  firing  into  her,  both  with  cannon  and 
musketry,  but  from  the  darkness  and  confusion  of  the  night, 
did  but  little  damage,  except  to  her  rigging  and  spars,  with 
the  loss  of  one  man  mortally  wounded.  As  soon  as  the  gal- 
ley was  free,  she  opened  her  fire  on  the  ship  with  her  long 
gun.  The  enemy  soon  gave  up  the  pursuit,  and  the  brig, 
with  her  crew,  was  brought  in  and  moored  at  the  wharf  in 
Newport. 

This  was  as  brave  and  gallant  an  exploit  as  was  enacted 
during  the  war.  Had  the  whole  twenty  men  succeeded  in 
boarding  the  brig,  it  would  have  been  a  bold  achievement, 
considering  how  near  she  lay  to  the  twenty  gun  ship.  But 
when  the  number  is  reduced  to  five,  to  oppose  ten  men  on 
their  own  deck,  it  deserves  all  our  praise.  And  then  to 
Btand  for  twenty  or  thirty  minutes,  hacking  at  the  cable  with 
such  an  inefficient  tool,  exposed  to  the  constant  fire  of  the 


JONATHAN    DEVOL.  245 

enemy,  required  the  utmost  coolness  and  intrepidity.  The 
effects  of  this  night's  exposure  to  the  rain  and  cold,  confined 
Mr.  Devol  to  his  bed  for  a  long  time,  and  laid  the  founda- 
tion of  a  disease  from  which  he  severely  suffered  for  the  last 
twenty  years  of  his  life. 

On  the  1st  of  May,  1777,  a  party  of  British  and  Hessians 
were  seen  from  the  American  look-out,  at  Battery  hill,  on 
the  main  land,  about  a  mile  and  a  half  from  their  lines  on 
the  island,  in  search  of  deserters  that  had  come  off  the  night 
before.  Lieut.  Devol,  with  twenty  men,  was  ordered  over 
across  the  inlet,  near  Howland's  ferry,  to  attack  them. 
He  landed  his  party  undiscovered.  Two  men  were  left  in 
charge  of  the  boats,  and  one  sent  to  an  adjacent  eminence 
to  give  notice  of  any  other  body  of  their  foes  that  might  be 
in  sight.  With  seventeen  men  he  charged  at  full  speed  on 
the  enemy.  They  immediately  fled,  and  their  commander, 
a  lieutenant  in  the  twenty-second  regiment,  fell  a  prisoner 
into  their  hands.  The  party  under  his  orders  consisted  of 
twenty-five  men,  as  confessed  by  himself.  They  were  hotly 
pursued  as  near  to  the  lines  as  was  prudent.  Soon  after 
the  British  took  possession  of  Newport,  a  number  of  the 
disaffected  inhabitants  of  Rhode  Island,  called  Tories,  joined 
them.  These  renegades  from  their  country's  cause,  felt  a 
greater  inveteracy  to  the  "Whigs  than  the  British  themselves, 
and  sought  every  opportunity  to  distress  and  destroy  them. 
One  dark  night  they  fitted  out  a  marauding  party  from  New- 
port, in  a  swift  sail-boat,  manned  with  ten  or  twelve  men, 
who  were  well  acquainted  with  the  adjacent  country  along 
the  shores  and  inlets  of  the  bay  which  embosom  the  island. 
In  this  expedition  they  attacked  and  plundered  the  house  of 
Job  Amy,  an  old  but  very  respectable  citizen,  robbing  him 
of  a  part  of  his  furniture,  and  considerable  valuable  plate, 
taking  the  old  man  also  with  them,  hoping  to  extort  money 
from  him  by  way  of  ransom.     His  son  Job,  an  active  young 


246  JONATHAN    DEVOL. 

man,  was  so  fortunate  as  to  escape  by  jumping  out  of  a 
chamber  window,  and  half-dressed  as  he  was,  hastened  with 
all  speed  to  Howland's  ferry,  where  Mr.  Devol  then  lived, 
knowing  that  he  commanded  a  party  of  men  and  one  of  the 
swiftest  boats,  for  the  purpose  of  rescuing  the  inhabitants 
and  harassing  the  enemy.  The  distance  he  had  to  run  was 
about  ten  miles,  which  he  performed  in  an  incredibly  short 
lime,  along  the  sandy  beach  of  the  shores.  He  reached  the 
ferry  about  midnight,  across  which  he  had  to  swim,  and  awak- 
ening Mr.  Devol,  related  the  disasters  of  the  night.  He  di- 
rected him  to  go  and  arouse  the  boat's  crew,  while  he 
procured  a  keg  of  water  and  some  provisions.  In  a  few 
minutes  all  were  ready,  and  Job  entered  with  them  as  a  vol- 
unteer in  the  cruise.  Knowing  the  course  which  the  robber 
boat  must  pursue  in  her  return  to  Newport,  they  concluded 
that  if  they  could  reach  Sckonet  Point,  a  noted  headland, 
which  she  must  pass,  they  could  overtake  them  before  they 
arrived  within  reach  of  the  protection  of  the  British  shipping, 
and  recover  the  plunder,  as  well  as  make  prisoners  of  the 
crew,  and  release  their  own  friends  whom  they  had  forced 
away  with  them.  By  great  exertion  in  rowing  and  the  ut- 
most skill  in  sailing,  they  hove  in  sight  of  the  point  just  as 
the  day  dawned,  and  made  out  the  robber  boat  a  short  mile 
distant.  Bill  Crowson,  the  commander  of  the  Tory  crew,  a 
violent  villain  and  robber,  espied  his  pursuers  at  the  same 
time;  expecting  that  he  might,  possibly,  be  intercepted  from 
the  escape  of  Job  Amy;  and  yet  the  distance  was  so  great 
that  he  did  not  believe  he  could  travel  that  far  in  so  short  a 
space  of  time  as  to  bring  Devol  down  upon  him  by  day- 
light. One  of  Crowson's  prisoners,  an  active,  bold  man,  as 
soon  as  he  saw  the  pursuing  boat  jumped  upon  the  thwarts, 
and  swinging  his  hat,  shouted  with  all  his  might,  saying  he 
knew  it  was  Devol's  boat,  one  of  the  swiftest  in  all  those 
waters,  and  they  should  surely  be  retaken.     Bill  d d 


JONATHAN   DEVOL.  247 

him  for  an  impudent  rebel,  and  with  a  terrible  oath,  swore 
if  he  did  not  seat  himself  quietly  in  the  boat,  as  the  motion 
disturbed  her  sailing,  he  would  shoot  him  on  the  spot.  He 
boldly  answered  that  he  dare  not  do  it,  for  his  friends  would 
shortly  be  up  with  him  and  revenge  his  death.  His  predic- 
tion was  soon  verified.  Devol's  crew,  by  great  exertions 
with  their  oars,  as  well  as  the  nicely  adjusted  sails  under  his 
own  care,  soon  ran  along  side,  and  on  being  ordered  to  sur- 
render in  a  tone  that  meant  to  be  obeyed,  they  gave  up  with- 
out firing  a  shot,  although  manned  by  a  more  numerous 
crew.  Knowing  their  cause  to  be  a  dastardly  one,  they 
could  not  defend  it  with  the  courage  of  men  who  have  right 
and  justice  on  their  side.  After  the  surrender,  the  young 
man  who  had  been  ill-treated  and  abused  by  Crowson, 
sprang  at  him  with  a  sword  which  he  snatched  from  the  hand 
of  one  of  the  men,  and  would  have  put  him  to  death  but 
for  the  interference  of  Mr.  Devol,  who  could  not  suffer  a 
prisoner  to  be  injured,  however  mean  and  villainous  he 
might  be.  The  boat  returned  in  triumph  with  her  prize, 
although  the  British  fleet  lay  at  anchor  within  gunshot  of 
the  spot.  Crowson  was  such  a  notorious  rascal,  that  the  in- 
habitants of  Tiverton  were  with  difficulty  restrained  from 
hanging  him  up  without  trial.  He  was,  however,  sent  off 
under  a  guard  to  Taunton  jail,  and  confined  as  a  British 
prisoner.  Job  Amy,  the  young  man  who  gave  the  alarm, 
never  recovered  from  the  exertions  of  that  night,  but  died  of 
a  consumption  before  the  end  of  a  year. 

In  1776,  Capt.  Devol  married  Miss  Nancy  Barker,  the 
daughter  of  Capt.  Isaac  Barker,  for  many  years  a  noted 
ship-master  of  Newport.  Her  father  was  lost  at  sea  some 
years  before  the  war,  and  she,  with  her  widowed  mother  and 
several  sisters,  now  resided  on  a  farm,  near  the  center  of  the 
island,  on  the  road  from  Howland's  ferry  to  Newport.  When 
the  British  troops  took  possession  of  the  place,  many  of  the 


248  JONATHAN    DEVOL. 

inhabitants  were  suffered  to  remain  quietly  in  their  houses. 
Mrs.  Barker  was  one  of  this  number,  and  three  or  four  of 
the  officers  were  quartered  the  winter  following  at  her  house. 
They,  however,  treated  her  and  the  young  ladies  very  po- 
litely and  paid  her  honorably  for  their  board.  The  fiery 
and  patriotic  spirit  of  the  young  lieutenant  could  not  brook 
the  thought  of  his  betrothed  remaining  in  the  society  of  the 
enemies  of  his  country,  lest  their  fascinating  manners  and 
rich  dresses  should  lessen  her  devotion  to  the  Whig  cause. 
He  accordingly,  after  giving  her  timely  notice,  planned  an 
expedition  on  to  the  island  with  a  party  of  men,  and  one 
dark  wintry  night,  at  the  imminent  hazard  of  his  life  from 
the  sentries,  brought  off  his  intended  wife  in  safety.  Shortly 
after  this  event,  they  were  married  at  the  house  of  an  elder 
sister,  near  Fairhaven.  This  union  proved  to  be  a  very 
happy  one,  though  checkered  with  many  vicissitudes.  She 
was  the  mother  of  thirteen  children,  and  shared  with  him 
the  dangers  and  privations  of  settling  a  new  country  in  the 
wilderness,  amidst  the  horrors  of  an  Indian  war. 

After  the  close  of  the  Revolution,  and  he  had  witnessed 
the  triumph  of  his  country  over  her  enemies,  he  settled  down 
in  quiet  at  Howland's  ferry.  Here  he  carried  on  the  boat- 
building, and  kept  a  small  store  of  groceries. 

When  the  Ohio  Company  was  formed  in  1789,  he  became 
one  of  the  associates.  In  the  autumn  of  that  year,  he  joined 
the  little  band  of  pioneers  who  preceded  the  actual  settlers 
with  their  families,  and  spent  the  winter  on  the  Youghiogheny 
river,  at  Simrel's  ferry.  Here  he  was  employed  by  Gen. 
Putnam  to  superintend  the  building  of  a  large  boat  for  the 
transport  of  the  advance  guard  of  the  Ohio  Company  and 
their  provisions  to  the  mouth  of  the  Muskingum.  She  was 
named  by  the  adventurers,  the  May-flower.  This  is  said  to 
have  been  the  first  decked  boat  that  ever  floated  on  the  Ohio. 
She  was  built  with  stout  timbers  and  knees  like  a  galley, 


JONATHAN    DEVOL.  249 

with  the  bottom  raking  fore  and  aft,  and  decked  over  with 
planks.  The  deck  was  sufficiently  high  for  a  man  to  walk 
upright  under  the  beams,  and  the  sides  so  thick  as  to  resist 
a  rifle  bullet.  The  steersman  and  rowers  were  thus  safely 
sheltered  from  the  attack  of  enemies  on  the  banks.  She 
was  forty-five  feet  in  length  and  twelve  in  breadth.  Subse- 
quently, gangboards  were  added  on  the  outside,  so  that  she 
could  be  pushed  against  the  current  with  poles,  like  a  keel- 
boat;  and  was  used  in  transporting  a  number  of  the  colonial 
families  from  Buffalo,  above  Wheeling,  to  Marietta,  in  the 
summer  of  1788.  It  was  at  first  supposed  she  could  be 
worked  up  stream  with  sail,  but  the  variable  nature  and  un- 
certainty of  the  winds  on  the  Ohio  river,  frustrated  their 
arrangement. 

After  the  pioneer  corps  had  established  themselves  at  the 
mouth  of  the  Muskingum,  he  was  actively  engaged  in  the 
erection  of  the  stockaded  garrison,  called  Campus  Martius. 
This  imposing  structure  answered  the  double  purpose  of  a 
fort  and  for  dwelling-houses.  Within  these  walls  the  col- 
onists were  safe  from  the  attack  of  Indians.  The  block- 
houses, as  well  as  the  dwellings  which  formed  the  curtains 
between,  were  built  of  planks  four  inches  thick,  and  eighteen 
or  twenty  inches  wide,  sawed  by  hand  from  the  huge  poplar 
trees  which  grew  near  the  ground  occupied  by  the  garrison. 
These  were  dovetailed  together  at  the  corners,  and  with  the 
smooth  surface  left  by  the  whip-saw,  gave  to  the  exterior  a 
finished  and  beautiful  aspect.  The  fort,  as  it  may  well  be 
called,  was  a  square  of  one  hundred  and  eighty  feet  on  each 
side,  as  figured  in  the  preceding  volume.  The  settlers  were 
allowed  to  build  a  part  of  the  dwelling-houses  in  the  cur- 
tains for  themselves,  after  the  plan  laid  down  by  Gen  Put- 
nam. Capt.  Devol  built  one  on  his  own  account,  forty  feet 
long  by  eighteen  wide,  and  two  stories  high,  furnished  with 


250  JONATHAN    DEVOL. 

neat  brick  chimneys,  a  kiln  being  made  and  burned  the  first 
season. 

Mrs.  Devol,  with  five  children,  came  on  and  joined  him 
in  December,  as  narrated  in  the  Pioneer,  vol.  ii.  The  fol- 
lowing winter  his  house  sheltered  seventy  persons,  young 
and  old,  so  few  were  the  finished  dwellings.  The  summer 
of  1789  was  spent  in  completing  the  works  at  Campus  Mar- 
tius,  and  in  the  winter  he  was  employed  with  two  others  in 
exploring  the  lands  of  the  company  for  suitable  spots  for 
mills,  and  to  commence  farming  settlements.  In  February, 
1790,  he  moved  his  family  to  Belpre,  and  settled  on  a  small 
farm,  in  company  with  other  associates,  united  together  for 
mutual  assistance  and  protection,  as  the  western  tribes, 
notwithstanding  the  treaty  with  Gov.  St.  Clair,  appeared 
to  be  hostile,  and  on  the  eve  of  a  rupture.  During  the  first 
six  months  of  the  year  the  settlers  suffered  very  much  from 
a  want  of  food,  as  more  fully  noticed  in  the  history  of 
Belpre. 

Early  in  January,  1791,  the  Indian  war  broke  out,  and 
the  inhabitants  were  compelled  to  leave  their  improvements 
and  go  into  garrison.  The  news  of  the  massacre  at  Big 
Bottom  reached  Belpre  the  day  after  that  event,  at  a  time 
when  nearly  all  the  men,  especially  the  heads  of  families, 
were  at  Marietta,  attending  the  Court  of  Quarter  Sessions. 
Most  wretched  was  the  night  following  this  news,  to  the 
women  and  children,  as  they  watched  with  trembling  hearts 
in  the  slender  log-cabins  in  which  they  dwelt,  the  approach 
of  the  Indians,  expecting  every  hour  to  hear  their  terrific 
yells.  Mrs.  Devol  directed  her  children  to  lie  down  with 
their  clothes  on,  ready  to  rush  into  the  woods  at  the  first 
alarm.  The  court  was  soon  adjourned,  and  Capt.  Devol, 
with  the  others,  returned  with  all  speed  to  their  homes,  ex- 
pecting to  see  their  houses  in  flames,  and  their  wives  and 


JONATHAN   DEVOL.  251 

children  slaughtered  or  taken  captives  by  the  savages.  A 
council  of  the  leading  men  was  promptly  called,  and  it  was 
decided  to  build  a  strong  garrison  three  miles  below  the  Lit- 
tle Kenawha,  against  the  center  of  the  island,  since  known 
as  the  island  of  Blennerhasset.  This  garrison  contained 
thirteen  large  block-houses,  ranged  in  two  lines,  about  six 
rods  apart,  near  the  bank  of  the  Ohio,  and  was  very  appro- 
priately called  Farmers'  Castle.  The  whole  was  inclosed 
with  stout  palisades,  and  made  a  formidable  defense  against 
the  attack  of  Indians.  It  was  forty  rods  long  by  eight  rods 
wide.  Two  large  gates  were  placed  at  the  east  and  west 
ends,  while  two  smaller  ones  led  down  to  the  river.  This 
work  was  chiefly  planned  and  built  under  the  direction  of 
Capt.  Devol,  aided  by  the  council  of  several  old  and  expe- 
rienced officers  of  the  settlement,  in  an  incredibly  short 
space  of  time,  and  sheltered  thirty  or  forty  families,  be- 
sides single  men,  during  the  war.  When  we  consider  the 
labor  of  cutting  and  hauling  such  a  multitude  of  trees,  to 
afford  pickets  fifteen  feet  long,  with  all  the  timber  for  eleven 
large  block-houses,  two  stories  high  and  twenty  feet  square, 
we  are  struck  with  admiration  at  the  resolution  and  enter- 
prise of  this  handful  of  pioneers,  about  twenty-five  or  thirty 
in  number.  A  considerable  portion  of  this  timber  was 
dragged  on  to  the  ground  by  men  (as  they  had  but  few  ox 
teams,  and  no  horses,)  on  sledges,  the  snow  fortunately 
being  a  foot  or  more  deep.  All  this  was  accomplished  in 
about  six  weeks'  time,  and  was  acting  over  again  the  labors 
of  the  Pilgrim  Fathers  at  Plymouth  rock.  While  at  this 
work  they  had  the  protection  of  the  two  block-houses  built 
on  this  ground  the  year  before  by  Col.  Battelle  and  Griffin 
Greene,  and  was  the  probable  cause  of  their  selecting  this 
spot  for  their  main  garrison. 

During  the  first  two  years  of  the  settlement,  their  meal 
was  all  ground  on  hand-mills,  with  great  labor  and  fatigue. 


252  JONATHAN   DEVOL. 

Soon  after  they  were  settled  in  the  new  castle,  the  active 
mind  of  Mr.  Devol  suggested  a  remedy  for  this  inconven- 
ience. Some  time  previous,  in  conversation  with  Mr. 
Greene,  he  learned  that  he  had  seen  floating  mills  in  Hol- 
land. He  directly  proposed  a  project  for  a  grist-mill,  to  be 
built  on  boats,  and  anchored  in  the  Ohio,  at  some  ripple, 
within  sight  of  the  castle,  where  it  would  be  safe  from  their 
savage  foes.  A  few  of  the  intelligent  men  joined,  and  a 
company  was  formed  for  executing  the  work,  and  in  the 
course  of  the  year  1791,  a  mill  was  completed  and  put  in 
operation,  which  ground  the  meal  used  by  the  inhabitants 
during  the  war.  It  was  built  on  two  boats:  one  a  large 
pirogue,  formed  out  of  an  immense  hollow  sycamore  tree : 
the  other  a  large  flatboat,  made  of  planks  fifty  feet  long  and 
ten  wide.  This  sustained  the  mill-stones,  gearing,  hopper, 
&c,  while  the  other  boat  supported  the  outer  end  of  the 
water-wheel  shaft.  The  boats  were  connected  by  stout 
timbers,  to  keep  them  steady  against  the  wind  and  current 
of  the  river,  planked  over  so  as  to  make  a  floor  between  the 
bow  and  stern  of  each.  The  open  space  was  ten  feet 
square,  in  which  the  water-wheel  worked,  and  was  similar 
in  structure  to  those  of  a  steamboat.  The  main  boat  was 
secured  by  a  chain  cable  attached  to  a  rock  anchor;  the 
other  by  a  grape  vine.  The  mill  was  stationed  about  thirty 
yards  from  the  shore  of  the  island,  nearly  half  a  mile  above 
the  castle,  as  seen  in  the  annexed  plate.  In  a  favorable 
state  of  the  river,  she  could  grind  forty  bushels  in  twenty- 
four  hours.  A  small  frame  house  stood  in  the  main  boat, 
and  protected  the  machinery  and  grain,  as  well  as  the 
miller,  from  the  rain.  During  winter  it  was  taken  nearer 
the  shore,  under  some  point  for  protection  against  the  ice. 
Floating  trees  sometimes  broke  it  loose  from  the  moorings, 
but  as  there  was  usually  some  one  on  board,  timely  notice 
was  given,  and  the  inmates  of  the  castle  turned  out  and 


JONATHAN   DEVOL.  253 

towed  it  back  again.  Finally,  near  the  close  of  the  war,  it 
broke  loose  in  the  night,  and  floated  down  the  Ohio  seventy 
miles,  when  the  chain  cable  got  entangled  in  a  rock,  and 
brought  it  up.  The  distance  was  too  great  for  towing  back 
again,  and  it  was  sold  to  the  French  settlers  at  Gallipolis. 
This  mill  not  only  did  the  grinding  for  Belpre,  but  many 
canoe  loads  of  grain  were  brought  from  Point  Pleasant, 
Graham's  Station,  and  Belville. 

During  the  period  of  the  war  the  small-pox  and  scarlet 
fever  both  visited  the  inhabitants.  By  the  latter  disease  he 
lost  his  oldest  son,  a  lad  of  fourteen  years,  and  two  other 
children.  It  was  of  a  malignant  type,  carrying  off  from 
fifteen  to  twenty  children,  beside  several  with  the  small-pox. 

About  this  time  he  executed  the  work  of  a  complicated 
piece  of  machinery,  for  Esq.  Greene,  who  thought  he  had 
discovered  the  true  principle  of  perpetual  motion.  The  dis- 
criminating mind  of  Capt.  Devol  saw,  at  once,  the  fallacy 
of  the  principle,  and  so  expressed  himself  to  the  inventor ; 
nevertheless,  he  was  willing  to  assist  him  in  the  experiment. 
It  proved  a  failure,  like  all  other  attempts  of  the  kind. 

The  inhabitants  feeling  the  want  of  saccharine  matter  in 
their  food,  being  cut  off  from  their  former  supplies  from  the 
sugar  maple,  by  the  watchfulness  of  their  savage  foes,  he 
constructed  a  mill,  with  wooden  rollers  worked  with  oxen, 
for  grinding  and  pressing  out  the  juice  of  the  stalks  of  In- 
dian corn,  in  the  manner  latefy  proposed  by  the  secretary 
of  the  patent  office.  Many  gallons  of  syrup  were  in  this 
way  made,  that  supplied  the  place  of  a  better  article  not 
within  their  reach.  The  rich  juice  of  the  pumpkin  was  sub- 
jected to  the  same  process,  and  afforded  good  sweetening 
for  many  uses. 

In  1792,  he  built  a  twelve-oared  barge,  of  about  twenty- 
five  tons  burthen,  for  Gen.  Putnam,  of  the  wood  of  the  red 
cedar.    The  materials  were  collected  on  the  Little  Kenawha, 


254  JONATHAN    DEVOL. 

a  few  miles  aoove  the  mouth,  at  the  hazard  of  his  life,  in  the 
midst  of  the  Indian  war.  For  beauty  of  model  and  work- 
manship, she  was  said  to  excel  any  boat  ever  seen  on  the 
Ohio. 

After  Wayne's  treaty  in  1795,  he  moved  his  family  to  Ma- 
rietta, and  cultivated  the  lands  of  Paul  Fearing,  Esq.,  who 
boarded  in  his  family.  Here  he  remained  until  1797,  when 
he  purchased  lands  at  Wiseman's  bottom,  five  miles  above, 
on  the  Muskingum  river.  At  this  place  there  was  a  ripple, 
or  slight  fall,  which  he  thought  a  suitable  site  for  a  mill;  his 
mind  always  running  on  some  mechanical  operation,  that 
would  be  useful  to  the  destitute  colonists.  In  1798  he  built 
a  floating  mill  at  his  new  home,  which  for  many  years  did 
nearly  all  the  grinding  for  the  inhabitants  on  the  Ohio  and 
Muskingum  rivers  for  fifty  miles  above  and  below  the  mill ; 
the  travel  being  in  canoes  and  larger  boats.  In  1803  he 
built  a  larger  mill,  which  ground  a  hundred  bushels  in  twen- 
ty-four hours,  and  made  fine  flour.  In  1801  he  built  a  ship 
of  four  hundred  tons,  for  B.  I.  Gilman,  a  merchant  of  Ma- 
rietta. The  timbers  of  this  vessel  were  wholly  made  from 
the  wood  of  the  black  walnut,  which  grew  with  great  luxu- 
riance in  the  rich  bottoms  of  the  Muskingum,  after  which 
stream  the  ship  was  named.  In  1802  he  built  two  brigs  of 
two  hundred  tons  each;  one  called  the  Eliza  Green,  the 
other,  Ohio.  In  1804  the  schooner  Nonpareil  was  built, 
and  her  voyage  down  the  river  is  described  in  the  Pioneer, 
vol.  i.  In  1807  he  built  a  large  frame  flouring  mill  on  the 
spot  where  the  floating  mill  was  moored.  The  water-wheel 
was  forty  feet  in  diameter,  the  largest  ever  seen  in  that  day 
west  of  the  mountains.  During  all  these  busy  operations 
he  was  improving  his  farm,  planting  fruit  trees,  and  making 
his  home  comfortable  and  pleasant.  In  1809  he  purchased 
and  put  in  operation  machinery  for  carding  sheep's  wool, 
which  article  had  now  become  so  abundant  as  to  need  some- 


JONATHAN    DEVOL.  255 

thing  more  than  hand  cards  for  its  domestic  manufacture ; 
some  farmers  owning  flocks  of  several  hundred  sheep.  Still 
further  to  aid  in  the  domestic  manufactures,  he,  in  1808, 
erected  works  for  dressing  cloth  and  fulling,  both  of  which 
operations  are  believed  to  have  been  the  first  ever  carried 
on  in  this  part  of  Ohio,  if  not  in  the  state.  The  machinery 
for  cloth-dressing  was  procured  at  McConnelsville,  on  the 
Youghiogheny  river ;  these  articles  were  not  then  manufac- 
tured in  Ohio. 

Amidst  the  latter  period  of  these  operations,  when  about 
fifty  years  of  age,  he  began  the  study  of  the  French  lan- 
guage ;  and  solely  by  the  aid  of  Boyer's  dictionary,  he  in  a 
short  time  learned  to  read,  and  translate  as  he  read,  with 
ease  and  fluency,  any  book  in  that  tongue,  especially  works 
of  history.  When  master  of  this  subject,  he  commenced, 
in  1811  or  1812,  the  study  of  astronomy,  and  became  quite 
familiar  with  this  sublime  branch  of  science.  He  had  al- 
ways a  relish  for  the  mathematics,  and  entered  readily  into 
the  elements  of  this  deeply  interesting  study.  With  the  aid 
of  a  celestial  globe,  he  constructed  a  plan  of  the  path  and 
course  of  the  great  comet  of  1812,  and  sent  it  to  Josiah 
Meigs,  Esq.,  then  at  the  head  of  the  United  States  land  of- 
fice, for  his  examination.  It  excited  his  admiration  at  the 
genius  and  skill  of  Capt.  Devol,  in  a  branch  of  science  so 
little  understood  by  a  great  portion  of  mankind.  His  knowl- 
edge of  geography  was  complete,  and  superior  to  that  of 
any  other  man  known  to  the  writer  of  this  memoir.  For 
this  he  was  partly  indebted  to  his  extensive  reading,  which 
was  always  accompanied  by  a  map  of  the  region  treated  of 
in  the  book  or  newspaper  before  him.  Many  years  before 
steam  had  come  into  general  use  as  a  moving  power,  he 
directed  a  letter  to  the  secretary  of  the  navy,  on  the  advan- 
tages to  be  derived  from  steamships  of  war.  Nevertheless, 
he  was  a  man  of  peace ;  and  often  at  the  celebration  of  the 


250  JONATHAN    DEVOL. 

Fourth  of  July  was  accustomed  to  say  that  the  reading  of 
certain  portions  of  the  Declaration  of  Independence  ought 
to  be  omitted  on  that  day,  as  it  served  to  keep  up  the  old 
ill-will  and  hatred,  which,  as  the  nations  are  at  peace,  ought 
to  be  forgotten. 

His  house  was  open  to  all  his  friends  and  acquaintances ; 
while  the  hospitality  of  himself  and  good  wife  were  prover- 
bial. So  affable  and  kind  were  the  manners  of  this  worthy 
couple,  that  all  visitors  were  made  to  feel  how  very  welcome 
they  were,  and  that  their  company  was  a  favor  bestowed  on 
them,  instead  of  a  trouble. 

For  many  years  preceding  his  death,  he  suffered  greatly 
from  a  disease  of  the  hip  joint,  the  origin  of  which  he  traced 
to  the  night  of  his  hazardous  enterprise  in  the  harbor  of 
Newport. 

His  powers  of  conversation  on  nearly  all  subjects,  were 
unbounded,  as  well  as  his  magazine  of  ideas  and  facts ;  of 
course,  when  he  visited  Marietta,  as  he  often  did  on  business 
matters,  he  was  frequently  delayed  until  long  after  bedtime, 
in  conversations  at  the  firesides  of  his  friends;  nevertheless, 
he  could  seldom  be  persuaded  to  tarry  all  night,  but  climb- 
ing, with  much  effort,  into  his  little  one-horse  wagon,  would 
jog  cheerfully  along,  solitary  and  alone,  the  distance  of 
five  miles,  all  the  while,  if  the  night  was  clear,  delighting 
his  imagination  with  studying  out  the  names,  and  classing 
the  constellations  of  the  heavenly  hosts. 

He  had  six  brothers,  several  of  whom  settled  in  Ohio 
An  early  example  of  his  kindness  may  be  seen  in  his  treat- 
ment of  the  children  of  his  brother  Silas.  This  brother  was 
a  trader,  and  lived  in  Boston  at  the  beginning  of  the  war 
of  Independence.  He  joined  the  infant  navy  of  the  coun- 
try, and  acted  as  captain  of  marines,  under  Abraham  Whip- 
ple, during  the  first  year  of  the  war.  He  was  at  length 
taken  prisoner,  and  died  in  the  murderous  British  prison 


JONATHAN    DEVOL.  257 

ships  at  New  York,  with  thousands  of  his  countrymen.  His 
wife  and  three  children  were  left  destitute  at  Boston.  Capt. 
Devol,  although  then  poor,  and  supporting  his  own  family 
with  his  labor,  brought  the  three  children  to  his  house,  and 
fed  and  clothed  them  as  his  own,  till  the  daughter  was  mar- 
ried, and  the  two  sons  old  enough  to  take  care  of  themselves. 

He  used  sometimes  to  try  his  skill  in  poetry,  a  small  sam- 
ple of  which  is  given  in  the  life  of  Com.  Whipple.  The 
ideas  and  imagination  of  the  poet  were  not  wanting,  but  he 
lacked  one  necessary  qualification,  harmony  of  verse. 

In  person  Capt.  Devol  was  of  a  medium  size  and  hight, 
muscular,  and  well-proportioned;  quick  and  rapid  in  his 
motions  like  the  movements  of  his  mind;  a  well  formed 
head;  light  complexion ;  reddish-colored  hair;  blue, transpa- 
rent eyes,  sparkling  with  good  humor  and  intelligence ;  a 
well-proportioned  nose,  of  a  Roman  cast;  broad,  positive 
chin,  indicative  of  decision  and  firmness.  In  his  youthful 
days,  in  the  full,  showy  dress  of  the  period  of  the  Revolu- 
tion, he  was  said  to  have  been,  by  one  who  knew  him  well, 
the  most  perfect  figure  of  a  man  to  be  seen  amongst  a 
thousand. 

Mrs.  Devol  died  in  1823,  during  the  great  epidemic  fever 
which  pervaded  all  the  valley  of  the  Ohio. 

He  died  in  1824,  aged  sixty-eight  years,  greatly  lamented 
by  all  who  knew  him. 
17 


COL.    RETURN    JONATHAN    MEIGS. 

Tins  excellent  man  was  one  of  the  choice  spirits  brought 
out  by  the  stirring  times  of  the  American  Revolution,  a  sea- 
son which  tried  men's  souls  and  purified  their  patriotism  in 
the  furnace  of  affliction.  Some  of  the  best  blood  of  the 
Puritans  warmed  his  heart,  and  inspired  him  at  an  early 
day  to  resist  the  oppressions  of  the  mother  country,  and  to 
preserve  for  himself  and  his  posterity  the  civil  and  religious 
liberty  purchased  at  so  dear  a  rate  by  his  forefathers,  who 
had  left  their  country  and  homes  across  the  Atlantic  to  en- 
joy these  rights  in  the  wilderness  of  North  America. 

The  subject  of  this  sketch  was  born  at  Middletown,  Conn., 
in  December,  1740.  His  early  education  was  such  as  the 
public  schools  of  that  day  afforded.  He  was  a  neat  penman ; 
specimens  of  his  writing  are  seen  in  the  early  records  of  the 
Court  of  Common  Pleas  of  Washington  county,  Ohio,  of 
which  he  was  prothonotary.  His  knowledge  of  mathematics 
must  have  been  considerable,  as  he  was  one  of  the  surveyors 
of  the  Ohio  Company.  The  larger  portion  of  the  active 
and  prominent  men  at  the  period  of  the  Revolution,  were 
bred  to  farming,  or  some  useful  mechanical  occupation, 
which  gave  them  healthy,  muscular  frames,  and  vigorous, 
thinking  minds.  Col.  Meigs  was  bred  to  that  of  a  hatter; 
and  the  old  shop  may  now  be  seen  in  a  plan  of  the  ancient 
town,  attached  to  Barber's  History  of  Connecticut. 

At  the  breaking  out  of  the  war,  he  was  thirty-five  years 
old,  a  period  in  the  life  of  man,  when  his  physical  and  mental 
powers  are  fully  developed.  For  one  or  two  years  preceding, 
the  people  of  Middletown  had  noticed  the  gathering  storm, 


R.    J.    MEIGS.  259 

and  like  others  of  their  New  England  brethren,  prepared 
themselves  for  its  coming  by  forming  volunteer  military 
companies,  and  rolls  of  minute  men,  who  had  for  many 
months  been  trained  in  martial  exercises.  One  of  these 
was  organized  in  this  town,  well  armed  and  uniformed, 
which  made  choice  of  Mr.  Meigs  for  their  captain.  At  the 
first  news  of  the  blood  shed  at  Lexington,  he  marched  his 
company  of  light  infantry  to  Cambridge,  and  offered  hi3 
services  for  the  defense  of  the  country.  Soon  after  this  he 
was  appointed  a  major  by  the  state  of  Connecticut.  En- 
couraged by  the  successes  of  Allen  and  Arnold,  in  their  attacks 
on  the  British  Canadian  posts,  and  believing  they  had  many 
friends  amongst  the  French  inhabitants,  who  had  never  be- 
come fully  reconciled  to  the  sovereignty  of  the  English  since 
their  conquest  by  Gen.  Wolfe,  it  was  thought  advisable  by 
Gen.  Washington  and  a  committee  of  Congress,  who  visited 
the  camp  at  Cambridge,  to  send  a  body  of  troops  into  Can- 
ada by  the  way  of  the  Kennebec  and  Chaudiere  rivers,  to 
act  in  concert  with  the  army  of  Gen.  Montgomery,  already 
in  the  vicinity  of  Montreal.  Benedict  Arnold,  born  in  Nor- 
wich, Conn.,  in  the  same  year  with  Col.  Meigs,  a  bold,  active 
man,  was  selected  to  lead  the  expedition,  and  commissioned 
by  the  commander-in-chief,  as  a  colonel.  About  eleven 
hundred  men  were  detached  from  the  main  army,  composed 
of  ten  companies  of  infantry  from  the  New  England  states, 
and  three  companies  of  riflemen  from  Pennsylvania  and 
Virginia,  under  Capt.  Daniel  Morgan.  The  field  officers  of 
the  infantry  were  Lieut.  Col.  Christopher  Green,  of  Rhode 
Island,  Lieut.  Col.  Enos,  and  Majs.  Bigelow  and  Meigs. 

The  troops  left  the  camp  near  Cambridge,  on  the  11th  of 
September,  1775,  in  high  spirits,  looking  forward  to  a  glori- 
ous result  with  hope  and  confidence,  and  arrived  at  New- 
buryport,  where  they  were  to  embark  the  following  day. ,  On 
the  18th  they  entered  on  board  ten  transports,  and  sailed 


2G0  R.    J.    MEIGS. 

that  evening  with  a  fair  wind  for  the  mouth  of  the  Kenne- 
bec, which  place  they  reached  the  next  day,  without  any 
accident,  or  meeting  any  of  the  enemy's  ships.  The  vessel 
proceeded  up  the  river  to  Coburn's  ship-yard,  opposite  the 
present  town  of  Gardiner,  where  the  troops  embarked  with 
their  baggage  in  two  hundred  bateaux,  already  prepared 
by  carpenters,  sent  on  from  Cambridge,  and  proceeded  up 
the  river  to  Fort  Western,  opposite  to  the  present  town  of 
Augusta.  Before  leaving  this  place,  Arnold  dispatched  a 
party  of  eight  men,  with  two  guides,  under  Lieut.  Steel,  an  in- 
telligent, faithful  man,  in  birch-bark  canoes,  to  mark  out 
the  carrying  places  and  water-courses,  to  be  pursued  by  the 
army.  This  was  an  arduous  duty,  but  promptly  executed, 
and  the  route  marked  out  over  to  the  head-waters  of  the 
Chaudiere,  by  the  8th  of  October,  or  in  seventeen  days,  as 
appears  from  the  journal  of  Judge  Henry,  of  Pennsylvania, 
who  was  one  of  the  exploring  party.  The  main  army  did 
not  reach  this  point  in  their  march,  until  the  30th,  a  differ- 
ence of  twenty-two  days.  Although  every  exertion  was 
made,  their  progress  was  slow,  not  averaging  more  than 
ten  or  twelve  miles  a  day.  The  constant  recurrence  of  rip- 
ples, falls,  and  carrying  places,  across  which  it  required  the 
aid  of  all  the  men  to  carry  their  heavy  bateaux,  barrels  of 
pork  and  flour,  with  their  own  arms  and  baggage.  One  of 
these  carrying  places  across  a  bend,  from  the  Kennebec  to 
the  Dead  river,  a  westerly  tributary,  up  which  the  most 
direct  course  led,  was  fifteen  miles,  with  two  or  three  small 
ponds,  which  aided  a  little.  Some  of  the  carrying  places 
were  so  boggy  and  deep,  that  causeways  of  logs  had  to  be 
made  ;  while  others  were  rocky  and  full  of  bushes  and  fallen 
trees,  in  these  Herculean  labors  the  officers  were  as  deeply 
engaged  as  the  men ;  as  where  they  led,  the  soldiers  would 
follow.  It  was  the  most  arduous  and  laborious  enterprise 
performed  during  the  war,  where  the  men  suffered  not  only 


R.    J.    MEIGS.  261 

from  cold  and  fatigue  for  nearly  forty  days,  but  for  the  last 
ten  days  from  actual  starvation.  As  they  approached  the 
heads  of  Dead  river,  the  elevation  of  the  country  rendered 
the  nights  cold  even  in  summer,  and  by  the  20th  of  October, 
so  cold  as  to  cover  the  calm,  shallow  water,  with  a  thin  coat 
of  ice.  In  proof  of  the  elevation  of  this  region,  by  referring 
to  a  map,  it  will  be  seen  that  the  Connecticut,  the  Andros- 
coggin, the  Kennebec,  and  the  Chaudiere  rivers  all  take 
their  rise  in  this  vicinity 

Near  the  head  of  the  Dead  river  lived  the  remnants  of  an 
ancient  tribe  of  Indians.  The  leading  warrior  was  named 
Natanis.  For  some  reason  Col.  Arnold  concluded  they  were 
hostile  to  the  Americans,  and  directed  Lieut.  Steel  to  cap- 
ture or  kill  him.  He  visited  his  cabin,  a  neat,  small  struc- 
ture near  the  bank  of  the  river,  but  he  had  received  notice 
of  the  intention,  and  fled.  A  few  miles  above  his  hut,  a 
large  westerly  branch  puts  in,  which  the  exploring  party 
were  about  to  ascend  as  the  right  course  to  pursue,  when 
one  of  the  men  noticed  a  stake  driven  into  the  water's  edge, 
on  top  of  which  was  a  piece  of  folded  birch  bark,  secured 
in  a  split;  on  examining  this,  it  proved  to  be  a  map  of  the 
route  over  to  Chaudiere,  rudely  marked  on  the  bark,  no  doubt 
left  there  by  Natanis  for  the  benefit  of  the  Americans,  as  he 
subsequently  proved  himself  to  be  friendly,  and  several  of 
the  St.  Francis  Indians  joined  Arnold's  troops. 

The  progress  of  the  troops  and  their  laborious  march,  is 
fully  described  in  the  letters  of  their  leader  to  Gen.  Wash- 
ington and  others,  as  published  in  the  American  archives, 
extracts  from  which  follow.  Fort  Western  was  supposed  to 
be  only  one  hundred  and  eighty  miles  from  Quebec,  but  sub- 
sequently proved  to  be  over  three  hundred.  At  this  place, 
for  the  greater  convenience  of  marching,  the  troops  were 
separated  into  five  divisions,  with  the  distance  of  one  day's 


262  R.    J.    MEIGS. 

travel  between  each.  The  first  division  was  composed  of 
three  companies  of  riflemen,  under  Capt.  Morgan,  and  was 
in  advance ;  second  division,  three  companies  of  infantry, 
under  Col.  Christopher  Green;  third  division,  of  four  com- 
panies, under  Maj.  Meigs;  fourth  division,  of  two  compa- 
nies, under  Maj.  Bigelow;  fifth,  of  three  companies,  under 
Col.  Enos,  formed  the  rear-guard.  Norridgewock  falls  are 
fifty  miles  above  Fort  Western :  a  little  below  these  falls, 
was  once  the  seat  of  a  Catholic  mission  to  the  Indians,  un- 
der Father  Ralle,  so  basely  murdered  in  the  old  French  war 
by  a  party  of  colonists 

The  river  being  so  full  of  rapids  and  falls,  together  with 
the  leakage,  and  throwing  the  water  over  the  sides  of  the 
boats,  caused  great  damage,  and  loss  of  provisions.  Near 
the  heads  of  the  Dead  river  were  many  small  ponds, 
abounding  in  salmon  trout.  The  men  caught  large  quanti- 
ties for  food.  They  were  so  abundant  that  one  person 
could  take  with  a  hook  eight  or  ten  dozen  in  an  hour.  In 
size,  they  averaged  about  half  a  pound,  while  in  some  of 
the  ponds  they  were  much  larger.  This  region  has  within 
a  few  years  past  become  a  noted  resort  for  sportsmen  in 
trout-fishing. 

On  the  table  lands,  between  the  Kennebec  and  Chaudiere, 
there  was  considerable  flat  land,  very  wet  and  miry,  the 
men  sinking  six  or  eight  inches  deep  at  every  step.  Dead 
river  is  described  by  Arnold  as  a  fine,  deep  stream,  with  a 
current  hardly  perceptible,  between  the  falls  and  ripples. 
Two  or  three  log-huts  were  built  on  the  way  for  the  accom- 
modation of  the  sick  men,  ten  or  twelve  in  number.  Al- 
though they  were  constantly  wet,  and  the  labors  of  the 
march  excessive,  yet  very  few  of  them  fell  sick.  No  doubt 
the  excitement  and  novelty  of  their  pursuits  in  this  wild, 
desolate   region,   gave   a   stimulus   to   their  minds,  which 


R.    J.    MEIGS.  263 

rendered  them  in  a  manner  insensible  to  bodily  ailment. 
The  moose-deer  were  quite  plenty  here,  and  numbers  were 
killed  by  Morgan's  riflemen. 

The  weather,  to  the  middle  of  October,  was  very  fine, 
which  aided  the  army  in  its  progress  very  much.  On  this 
river  a  few  Indians  were  found  at  then'  fall  hunt,  and  one 
of  them,  named  Evans,  was  sent  by  the  commander  with  a 
letter  to  his  friends  in  Quebec,  notifying  them  of  his  ap- 
proach, of  which  the  enemy  had  yet  no  suspicion.  This 
Indian  betrayed  his  trust,  delivering  the  letter  to  a  British 
officer.  By  the  20th  of  the  month  heavy  rains  set  in,  and 
raised  the  river  so  high  as  greatly  to  impede  their  progress. 
On  the  24th  they  were  thirty  miles  from  Chaudiere,  with  a 
stock  of  provisions  only  sufficient  for  fifteen  days.  From 
this  point  he  sent  back  all  the  sick  and  feeble  men.  About 
this  period  a  party  of  twenty  men  were  sent  forward  to  clear 
the  four  mile  portage  from  the  head  of  Dead  river  over  to 
Chaudiere,  and  make  it  easier  to  pass  by  the  army.  It  lies 
across  a  mountain  or  high  hill.  Over  this  elevation  Mor- 
gan's men  carried  all  their  bateaux ;  while  the  other  troops 
took  only  one  for  each  company,  for  the  transport  of  their 
baggage.  Provisions  they  had  none,  or  only  five  pounds  of 
flour  to  each  man,  which  was  baked  into  cakes  in  the  ashes 
of  their  camp-fires. 

The  distance  to  Quebec  from  this  portage,  was  one  hun- 
dred miles.  The  Chaudiere,  or  Boiling  Cauldron,  as  named 
by  the  French,  was  too  rapid  and  full  of  falls  for  naviga- 
tion, and  nearly  all  the  boats  were  stove  and  sunk  in  the 
first  day's  voyage,  to  the  great  peril  of  the  men  and  loss  of 
baggage.  The  first  night  passed  on  the  Chaudiere,  being 
the  31st  of  October,  there  fell  four  inches  of  snow,  so  that 
the  men  in  their  bivouac  were  covered  with  it,  when  they 
awoke  in  the  morning.  (Henry.)  From  this  time  food 
became  more  and  more  scarce.     Previous  to  this,  the  rear 


204  R.    J.    MEIGS. 

division  had  advanced  fifty  miles  up  Dead  river,  where  Enos 
overtook  Col.  Green's  men,  entirely  out  of  provisions.  Ar- 
nold had  gone  forth  to  seek  an  interview  with  the  French 
inhabitants,  and  get  them  to  furnish  supplies  for  his  men. 
Under  these  disheartening  circumstances,  it  was  concluded 
by  the  officers  that  Col.  Enos'  men  should  deliver  all  their 
provisions  but  rations  for  three  days,  to  Col.  Green's  di- 
vision, and  return  back  to  the  settlements,  as  they  must 
certainly  starve  if  all  went  forward.  Those  who  returned  suf- 
fered much  from  want  of  food;  but  those  who  went  on,  far 
more.  Several  died  on  the  way,  from  starvation  and  fatigue, 
while  others  barely  preserved  life,  by  eating  leather,  bones, 
bark  of  trees,  and  soup  made  of  the  flesh  of  their  dogs. 
Had  not  the  commander  gone  on  in  advance,  and  purchased 
provisions  of  the  French,  who  were  very  friendly,  and  got 
them  to  carry  them  up  the  river  to  meet  the  troops,  many 
more  would  have  died. 

In  a  letter  to  Gen.  Schuyler,  dated  8th  of  November,  at 
St.  Marie,  two  and  a  half  leagues,  from  Point  Levi,  he  says, 
"I  was  not  then  apprised,  or  indeed  apprehensive  of  one- 
half  the  difficulties  we  had  to  encounter — of  which  I  cannot 
at  present  give  you  a  particular  detail  —  can  only  say,  we 
have  hauled  our  bateaux  up  over  falls,  up  rapid  streams,  over 
carrying  places,  and  marched  through  morasses,  thick  woods, 
and  over  mountains,  about  three  hundred  and  twenty  miles; 
many  of  which  we  had  to  pass  several  times  to  bring  over 
our  baggage.  These  difficulties  the  soldiers  have,  with  the 
greatest  fortitude,  surmounted;  and  about  two-thirds  of  the 
detachment  are  happily  arrived  here,  and  within  two  days' 
march,  most  of  them  in  good  health  and  high  spirits.  The 
other  part,  with  Col.  Enos,  returned  from  Dead  river,  con- 
trary to  my  expectation,  he  having  orders  to  send  back  only 
the  sick,  and  those  that  could  not  be  furnished  with  provi- 
sions.    The  Chaudicre  was  amazingly  rapid  and  rocky  for 


B.    J.     MEIGS.  265 

about  twenty  miles,  where  we  had  the  misfortune  to  stave 
three  of  our  bateaux  and  lose  their  provisions,  &c,  but 
happily  no  lives.  I  then  divided  the  little  stock  left,  and 
proceeded  on  with  the  two  remaining  boats  and  six  men, 
and  very  fortunately  reached  the  French  inhabitants  the 
30th  of  October,  at  night,  who  received  us  in  the  most  hos- 
pitable manner,  and  sent  off  early  the  next  morning  a  sup- 
ply of  fresh  provisions,  flour,  &c,  to  the  detachment."  This 
timely  aid,  which  saved  many  lives  and  encouraged  the  men 
to  proceed,  reached  them  on  the  3d  of  November. 

In  all  these  privations  and  hardships,  Maj.  Meigs  bore  a 
conspicuous  part,  suffering  equally  with  his  men.  Several 
females,  wives  of  the  soldiers,  bore  the  fatigues  of  this  dreary 
march,  wading  through  bogs  and  ponds  of  water  coated  with 
ice.  (Henry.)  Aaron  Burr  was  a  volunteer  in  this  heroic, 
but  calamitous  expedition.  On  the  14th  of  November,  in  a 
letter  to  Gen.  Montgomery,  he  says  he  crossed  the  St.  Law- 
rence with  about  five  hundred  and  fifty  men,  between  the 
hours  of  nine  at  night  and  four  in  the  morning,  without  being 
discovered  until  they  were  nearly  all  over.  This  was  effected 
in  twenty  birch-bark  canoes,  although  the  river  was  guarded 
by  two  vessels  of  war.  About  one  hundred  and  twenty-five 
more  men  subsequently  crossed,  increasing  his  little  army 
to  six  hundred  and  seventy-five.  Nearly  three  hundred  had 
returned  with  Col.  Enos,  leaving  one  hundred  and  twenty- 
five  as  the  number  lost  and  left  on  the  way  by  sickness  and 
death,  as  the  troops  at  Fort  Western  amounted  to  eleven 
hundred  men. 

With  this  small  force  of  resolute  soldiers,  he  immediately 
invested  the  walls  of  Quebec,  hoping  by  cutting  off  the  sup- 
plies to  force  them  to  capitulate.  One  of  the  officers  from 
his  camp  wrote  as  follows:  "The  difficulties  that  our  de- 
tachment underwent  in  the  woods  are  beyond  description. 
For  forty  days  I  waded  in  the  water,  more  or  less;  my  feet 


260  R.    J.    MEIGS. 

constantly  wet,  except  nights ;  the  most  of  the  time  freezing 
weather.  We  were  at  an  allowance  of  half  a  pint  of  flour 
a  man  for  a  fortnight,  and  half  that  time  no  meat;  passing 
through  morasses,  cedar  swamps  and  drowned  lands,  wading 
creeks  and  rivers  at  the  same  time.  The  number  that  we 
lost  was  small,  not  exceeding  three  or  four,  and  these  with 
hunger." 

The  result  of  the  attack  on  the  city  is  well  known.  Maj. 
Meigs,  with  his  battalion,  was  attached  to  that  portion  of  the 
army  which  penetrated  within  the  town,  where,  with  Morgan, 
Dearborn,  and  others,  he  was  taken  prisoner.  "  The  pris- 
oners within  the  city  were  kindly  treated  by  Gov.  Carlton. 
He  sent  out  Maj.  Meigs  for  their  clothes  and  baggage,  al- 
lowed them  to  be  supplied  with  money  and  other  conven- 
iencies  by  their  friends;  and  after  they  were  released,  they 
bore  a  unanimous  testimony  to  the  humanity  and  good  usage 
of  the  British  commander."     (Spark's  Life  of  Arnold.) 

During  the  long  and  dreary  winter  which  followed  their 
captivity,  Mr.  Meigs  did  all  he  could  to  alleviate  the  suffer- 
ings of  the  men,  which  arose  more  from  the  lack  of  warm 
clothing  than  of  food.  To  relieve  their  necessities,  he,  with 
Col.  Christopher  Green,  advanced  money  to  the  amount  of 
two  hundred  dollars.  This  was  justly  chargeable  to  the 
American  Congress,  but  was  not  repaid  until  three  years 
after  the  cessation  of  hostilities,  or  nearly  ten  from  the  time 
of  advancement,  when  we  find  on  their  journals  the  follow- 
ing resolution : 

"September  28th,  1785;  on  the  memorial  of  R.  J.  Meigs 
and  Job  Green,  son  and  heir  of  Christopher  Green,  deceased. 

Resolved,  That  the  Board  of  Treasury  take  order  for 
paying  to  R.  J.  Meigs,  late  a  colonel  in  the  service  of  the 
United  States,  and  to  the  legal  representative  of  Christopher 
Green,  deceased,  late  a  colonel  in  said  service,  the  sum  of 
two  hundred  dollars,  the  same  having  been  expended  for 


K.    J.    MEIGS.  267 

the  use  and  comfort  of  the  unfortunate  prisoners  in  Quebec, 
in  the  year  177G." 

In  the  course  of  this  year  he  was  duly  exchanged,  and  re- 
turned home;  soon  after  which  he  received  from  Congress 
the  commission  of  colonel,  and  was  authorized  to  raise  a 
regiment  of  choice  men,  which  was  afterward  known  in 
Connecticut  as  the  Leather  Cap  Regiment.  "  Col.  Meigs, 
having  enlisted  a  part  of  his  regiment,  marched  to  New 
Haven,  to  carry  into  execution  a  plan  projected  for  the  sur- 
prisal  of  a  party  of  the  enemy  at  Sagg  harbor,  on  Long 
Island,  where  a  large  amount  of  stores  and  forage  had  been 
collected  for  the  army  in  New  York." 

The  following  account  of  this  transaction  is  from  Mar- 
shall's Life  of  Washington :  "  Gen.  Parsons  intrusted  the 
execution  of  this  plan  to  Col.  Meigs,  a  very  gallant  officer, 
who  had  accompanied  Arnold  in  his  memorable  march  to 
Quebec,  and  had  been  taken  prisoner  in  the  unsuccessful 
attempt  made  on  that  place  by  Montgomery.  He  embarked 
with  about  two  hundred  and  thirty  men,  on  board  thirteen 
whale-boats,  and  proceeded  along  the  coast  to  Guilford, 
from  whence  he  was  to  cross  the  sound.  Here  he  was  de- 
tained some  time  by  high  winds  and  a  rough  sea;  but  on 
the  23d  of  May,  about  one  o'clock  in  the  afternoon,  he  re- 
embarked  one  hundred  and  seventy  of  his  detachment,  and 
proceeded,  under  convoy  of  two  armed  sloops,  across  the 
sound  to  the  north  division  of  the  island,  near  Southold. 
The  east  end  of  Long  Island  is  deeply  intersected  by  a  bay, 
on  the  north  side  of  which  had  been  a  small  foraging  party, 
against  which  the  expedition  was  in  part  directed ;  but  they 
had  marched  to  New  York  two  days  before.  Here,  how- 
ever, information  was  received  that  the  stores  had  not  been 
removed  from  Sagg  harbor,  which  lies  in  the  northern  divis- 
ion of  the  island,  and  that  a  small  guard  still  remained  there 
for  their  defense.     The  boats  were  immediately  conveyed 


268  R.    J.    MEIGS. 

across  the  land,  a  distance  of  about  fifteen  miles,  into  the 
bay,  where  the  troops  re-embarked,  and  crossing  the  bay, 
landed  within  four  miles  of  Sagg  harbor,  at  two  o'clock  in 
the  morning;  which  place  they  completely  surprised,  and 
carried  with  fixed  bayonets.  At  the  same  time,  a  division 
of  the  detachment  secured  the  armed  schooner  and  the  ves- 
sels, with  the  forage  which  had  been  collected  for  the  supply 
of  the  army  at  New  York.  These  brigs  and  sloops,  twelve 
in  number,  were  set  on  fire  and  entirely  consumed.  Six  of 
the  enemy  were  killed,  and  ninety  taken  prisoners.  A  very 
few  escaped  under  cover  of  the  night.  Col.  Meigs  returned 
to  Guilford  with  his  prisoners,  having  thus  completely  ef- 
fected the  object  of  the  expedition,  without  the  loss  of  a 
single  man,  and  having  moved  with  such  uncommon  celerity 
as  to  have  transported  his  men  by  land  and  water  ninety 
miles  in  twenty-five  hours. 

Shortly  after  this  brilliant  affair,  Congress  passed  the  fol- 
lowing resolution : 

"July  25th,  1777 — Resolved,  That  Congress  have  a  just 
sense  of  the  merit  of  Lieut.  Col.  Meigs,  and  the  officers 
and  men  under  his  command,  who  distinguished  their  pru- 
dence, activity,  enterprise,  and  valor,  in  the  late  expedition 
to  Long  Island,  and  that  an  elegant  sword  be  provided  by 
the  commissary-general  of  military  stores,  and  presented  to 
Lieut.  Col.  Meigs."     (Jour.  Congress.) 

Col.  Meigs  continued  to  sustain  an  active  part  in  all  the 
privations  and  sufferings  of  the  American  army,  during  the 
period  of  1778  and  1779;  and  in  the  latter  year  was  en- 
gaged in  one  of  the  most  brilliant  events  in  the  course  of 
the  war  —  the  capture  of  Stony  Point.  In  this  heroic  adven- 
ture, Col.  Meigs  acted  a  conspicuous  part,  his  regiment  be- 
ing attached  to  the  right  column  of  the  attacking  forces. 

The  following  description  of  the  locality,  and  events  con- 
nected therewith,  is  from  Marshall's  Life  of  Washington : 


R.    J.   MEIGS.  269 

"  Some  miles  below  West  Point,  about  the  termination  of 
the  Highlands,  is  King's  ferry,  where  the  great  road  between 
the  middle  and  eastern  states  crosses  the  North  river.  The 
ferry  is  completely  commanded  by  the  two  opposite  points 
of  land ;  the  one  on  the  west  side,  which  is  a  rough  elevated 
piece  of  ground,  is  denominated  Stony  Point;  and  the 
other  on  the  east  side,  which  is  a  flat  neck  of  land,  project- 
ing far  into  the  water,  is  called  Verplank's  Point.  The 
command  of  this  ferry  was  important  to  either  army :  to 
the  British,  as  it  gave  them  the  control  of  an  extensive  dis- 
trict of  country  in  which  to  forage,  and  also  the  advantage 
of  a  strong  post,  which  communicated  with  New  York  by 
water :  to  the  Americans  it  was  important,  as  it  afforded 
a  ready  and  safe  intercourse  with  the  stations  on  both  sides 
of  the  river,  and  the  loss  of  it  would  oblige  them  to  seek  a 
longer  and  higher  route,  through  a  rough  and  broken  coun- 
try. The  last  of  May,  Sir  Henry  Clinton,  strengthened  by 
a  large  body  of  British  troops  from  Virginia,  under  Gen. 
Vaughan,  embarked  his  army  from  New  York,  on  the  river, 
and  on  the  31st  landed  a  numerous  division  on  the  east  side 
of  the  Hudson,  eight  miles  below  Verplank's  Point,  while 
the  remainder  landed  on  the  west  side,  three  miles  below 
Stony  Point.  The  works  at  this  place  being  unfinished, 
were  abandoned.  The  British,  under  Gen.  Patterson,  im- 
mediately took  possession,  and  erecting  a  battery  of  heavy 
cannon  and  mortars,  were  ready  next  morning  to  open  a 
fire  on  Fort  Fayette  at  Verplank's  Point.  The  river  between 
the  two  points  is  about  one  thousand  yards  in  width.  The 
troops  landed  below,  invested  it  by  land,  and  some  galleys 
stationed  above,  prevented  the  escape  of  the  American  gar- 
rison by  water.  Capt.  Armstrong  being  unable  to  defend 
himself  against  this  superior  force,  surrendered  the  post. 
They  immediately  proceeded  to  fortify  their  acquisitions, 
and  especially  Stony  Point,  in  the  strongest  manner.    When 


270  R.    J.    MEIGS. 

fully  completed,  Sir  H.  Clinton  left  strong  garrisons  in  each, 
and  returned  to  New  York.  The  importance  of  these  posts 
to  the  Americans,  induced  Gen.  Washington  to  attempt 
their  recovery.  He  also  wished  to  achieve  some  important 
action  to  stimulate  the  courage  of  the  army,  and  arouse  the 
dormant  energies  of  the  country,  sinking  under  a  long 
course  of  disaster,  from  the  depredations  of  the  British  in 
Connecticut.  After  carefully  reconnoitering  these  posts,  and 
getting  all  the  information  possible,  he  was  satisfied  they 
could  only  be  taken  by  surprise.  His  first  plan  was  to  at- 
tack both  posts  simultaneously ;  but  as  such  operations  are 
very  difficult  of  attainment,  he  decided  to  turn  all  his  atten- 
tion to  the  attack  of  Stony  Point.  As  the  capture  of  this, 
from  its  elevated  position,  would  give  it  command  over  the 
fort  at  Verplank's  Point.  To  Gen.  Wayne,  the  commander 
of  the  American  light  infantry,  was  intrusted  the  conduct 
of  the  enterprise.  Twelve  o'clock  on  the  night  of  the  15th 
of  July,  was  chosen  for  the  assault.  Stony  Point  is  a  com- 
manding hill,  projecting  far  into  the  Hudson,  which  washes 
three-fourths  of  its  base;  the  remaining  fourth  is,  in  a  great 
measure,  covered  by  a  deep  marsh,  over  which  there  is  only 
one  crossing  place ;  but  at  its  junction  with  the  river  is  a 
sandy  beach  passable  at  low-tide.  On  the  summit  of  this 
hill  was  erected  the  fort,  furnished  with  an  abundance  of 
heavy  ordinance.  Several  breast-works  and  strong  batteries 
were  advanced  in  front  of  the  principal  works;  and  about 
half  way  down  the  hill  were  two  rows  of  abatis.  The  bat- 
teries commanded  the  beach  and  the  crossing  place  of  the 
marsh,  and  could  rake  and  enfilade  any  column  approaching 
the  fort  from  either  of  those  points.  Several  vessels  of  war 
were  also  stationed  in  the  river,  so  as  to  command  the 
ground  at  the  foot  of  the  hill.  The  fort  was  garrisoned  by 
six  hundred  men,  under  Lieut.  Col.  Johnson.  At  noon  of 
the  day  preceding  the  night  of   attack,  the  light  infantry 


K.    J.    MEIGS.  271 

commenced  their  march  from  Sandy  beach,  distant  fourteen 
miles  from  Stony  Point,  and  passing  over  an  exceeding 
rugged  and  mountainous  country,  arrived  about  eight  o'clock 
P.  M.,  at  Steel's  spring,  one  and  a  half  miles  from  the  fort, 
where  the  dispositions  for  the  assault  were  made.  It  was 
intended  to  attack  the  works  on  the  right  and  left  flanks  at 
the  same  instant.  The  regiments  of  Febiger  and  Meigs, 
with  Maj.  Hull's  detachment,  formed  the  right  column; 
and  Butler's  regiment,  with  the  companies  under  Maj.  Mur- 
free,  formed  the  left;  one  hundred  and  fifty  volunteers  led 
by  Lieut.  Col.  Fleary  and  Maj.  Posey,  constituted  the  van 
of  the  right;  and  one  hundred  under  Maj.  Stewart,  composed 
the  van  of  the  left.  At  half  past  eleven,  the  two  columns 
moved  on  to  the  charge,  the  van  of  each  with  unloaded 
muskets  and  fixed  bayonets.  They  were  each  preceded  by  a 
forlorn  hope  of  twenty  men,  commanded  by  Lieuts.  Gibbons 
and  Knox,  wThose  duty  it  was  to  remove  the  abatis  and  other 
obstructions,  to  open  a  passage  for  the  columns  which  fol- 
lowed close  in  the  rear.  Proper  measures  having  been  taken 
to  prevent  notice  of  their  approach,  the  Americans  reached 
the  marsh  undiscovered.  Here  some  unexpected  difficulties 
arose,  and  the  assault  did  not  commence  until  twenty  minutes 
after  twelve.  Both  columns  then  rushed  forward  under  a 
tremendous  fire  of  musketry  and  grape  shot;  surmounting 
every  obstacle,  they  entered  the  works  at  the  point  of  the 
bayonet,  without  discharging  a  single  piece,  and  obtained 
complete  possession  of  the  fort.  The  humanity  of  the  con- 
querors was  not  less  conspicuous,  nor  less  honorable,  than 
their  bravery ;  not  a  single  individual  suffered  after  resist- 
ance ceased.  All  the  troops  displayed  the  greatest  courage, 
and  all  distinguished  themselves  whose  situation  enabled 
them  to  do  so.  Out  of  the  forlorn  hope,  led  by  Lieut.  Gib- 
bons, seventeen  were  killed  or  wounded.  The  loss  of  the 
Americans  was  not  in  proportion  to  the  apparent  danger, 


272  R.    J.     MEIGS. 

and  amounted  to  only  about  one  hundred  in  killed  and 
wounded.  That  of  the  British  was  one  hundred  and  thirty- 
one,  of  whom  sixty-three  were  killed.  It  was  intended  to  make 
an  attack  on  Verplank's  as  soon  as  Gen.  Wayne  got  posses- 
sion of  Stony  Point,  but  from  some  mistake  that  plan  failed. 
Gen.  Washington  examined  the  position  of  Stony  Point, 
and  thought  it  not  advisable  to  maintain  it,  as  it  would  re- 
quire at  least  fifteen  hundred  men  to  garrison  it,  more  than 
he  could  spare  from  the  army  without  weakening  his  means 
of  defense  in  the  Highlands.  It  was,  therefore,  reluctantly 
abandoned.  Sir  H.  Clinton  directly  took  it  in  possession 
and  fortified  it  stronger  than  before. 

The  success  of  this  enterprise  infused  new  courage  into 
the  country,  and  revived  the  drooping  spirits  of  the  Ameri- 
can people.  It  was  a  proof  that  the  bravery  and  enterprise 
of  their  soldiers  was  fully  equal  to  that  of  their  enemies,  a 
fact  which  the  British  always  stoutly  denied,  but  were  now 
obliged  to  confess.  Col.  Meigs  shared  largely  in  the  honors 
and  dangers  of  the  assault,  mounting  the  breast-work  at 
the  head  of  his  men,  and  with  his  hand  clasped  in  theirs, 
assisted  many  to  gain  the  top  of  this  formidable  obstruction, 
who,  with  fixed  bayonets,  leaped  down  into  the  fort  amidst 
their  enemies.  Every  man  engaged  in  it,  through  life,  was 
noticed  by  his  countrymen  as  one  of  the  heroes  of  Stony 
Point. 

From  this  period  to  the  close  of  the  war,  he  continued  to 
serve  his  country  with  fidelity,  and  at  the  close  shared  in 
the  honors  and  blessings  of  civil  liberty,  so  dearly  bought 
with  the  blood  and  toil  of  his  countrymen.  After  the  war 
he  still  lived  at  Middletown. 

On  the  formation  of  the  Ohio  Company,  in  which  many 
soldiers  of  the  Revolution  engaged,  he  was  appointed  one 
of  their  surveyors,  and  in  the  spring  of  the  year  1788  he 
landed  at  Marietta,  and  entered  on  the  duties  of  his  office. 


R.    J.    MEIGS.  273 

"  A  government  for  the  Northwestern  Territory  had  been 
prepared  by  an  ordinance  of  Congress,  in  1787.  Gov.  St. 
Clair  and  the  judges  of  the  territory  had  not  arrived. 
The  emigrants  were  without  civil  laws  or  civil  authority. 
Col.  Meigs  drew  up  a  concise  system  of  regulations,  which 
were  considered  by  the  emigrants  as  the  rule  of  conduct 
and  preservation,  until  the  proper  authorities  should  arrive. 
To  give  these  regulations  publicity,  a  large  oak,  standing 
near  the  confluence  of  the  rivers,  was  selected,  from  which 
the  bark  was  cut  off,  of  sufficient  space  to  attach  the  sheet 
on  which  the  regulations  were  written ;  and  they  were  ben- 
eficially adhered  to  until  the  civil  authorities  arrived  in  July. 
This  venerable  oak  was  to  the  emigrants  more  useful,  and 
as  frequently  consulted,  as  the  oracle  of  ancient  Delphos, 
by  its  votaries."*  Soon  after  the  arrival  of  Gov.  St.  Clair, 
he  was  appointed  a  justice  of  the  peace,  and  one  of  the 
judges  of  the  Court  of  Quarter  Sessions.  He  was  also 
commissioned  as  the  clerk  of  this  court,  and  prothonotary 
of  the  Court  of  Common  Pleas.  The  first  session  of  the 
latter  was  held  on  Tuesday,  the  2d  of  September,  1788. 
This  being  the  earliest  court  ever  assembled  in  the  North- 
western Territory,  it  was  honored  with  all  the  ceremony  due 
to  so  important  an  occasion.  A  procession  was  formed  at 
the  Point,  composed  of  the  inhabitants,  with  the  United 
States  officers  from  Fort  Harmer,  who  escorted  the  judges 
of  the  Court  of  Common  Pleas,  with  the  governor  and  su- 
preme judges  of  the  territory,  to  the  hall  in  the  northwest 
block-house  of  Campus  Martius,  distant  about  half  a  mile. 
The  procession  was  headed  by  the  sheriff,  Col.  E.  Sproat,  a 
man  six  feet  and  four  inches  high,  and  large  in  proportion, 
with  a  drawn  sword  in  his  right  hand,  and  wand  of  office  in 
the  left ;  the  whole  making  quite  an  imposing  appearance, 


*  Obituary  notice  of  Col.  Meigs,  bv  his  son,  the  postmaster-general. 
18 


274  11.    J.     MEIGS. 

and  exciting  the  admiration  of  the  friendly  savages,  a  num- 
ber of  whom  were  loitering  about  the  new  city.  When  all 
were  assembled  within  the  hall,  the  services  of  the  day  were 
opened  with  prayer  by  the  Rev.  Manasseh  Cutler,  one  of 
the  directors  of  the  Ohio  Company.  The  court  was  then 
organized  by  reading  the  commissions  of  the  judges,  the 
clerk  and  the  sherilf,  after  which  the  latter  opened  it  for 
business,  by  proclamation.  The  duties  of  clerk  were  exe- 
cuted by  Col.  Meigs,  with  accuracy  and  fidelity,  for  a  num- 
ber of  years. 

In  1789,  he  was  engaged  a  part  of  the  summer  in  survey- 
ing the  meanders  of  the  Ohio  river,  from  the  Muskingum 
down  to  the  mouth  of  the  Big  Sandy,  which  was  supposed 
to  be  near  the  line  of  the  western  boundary  of  the  purchase. 
While  on  this  trip  by  wrater,  in  a  large  flatboat,  then  in  use 
for  traveling  up  as  well  as  down  stream,  the  Indians  made 
an  attack  on  John  Matthews,  who  was  surveying  the  west- 
ern range  of  townships,  and  killed  seven  men  of  his  com- 
pany. He  fled  to  Col.  Meigs,  who  received  him  on  board, 
and  crossed  over  the  Ohio  river.  A  little  below  Twelve 
Pole  creek  he  erected  a  small  block-house,  for  the  security 
of  his  men,  until  another  party  of  surveyors,  under  Mr. 
Backus,  could  come  in.  This  they  did  in  a  day  or  two;  and 
having  completed  his  survey  of  the  river,  they  all  returned 
to  Marietta.  During  the  period  of  the  Indian  war,  the  la- 
bors of  the  surveyors  were  suspended:  and  for  several  years 
he  suffered  all  the  privations  and  dangers  of  that  distressing 
time. 

During  the  treaty  with  the  Indians  at  Greenville,  in  1795. 
Col.  Meigs  was  appointed  a  commissary  of  the  clothing  de- 
partment; issuing  the  goods  furnished  to  the  Indians  as  well 
as  the  troops.  Here  he  exercised  his  benevolent  feelings  in 
behalf  of  the  whites  who  were  prisoners  with  the  Indians, 
to  see  that  all  were  delivered  up,  as  stipulated  in  one  of  the 


R.    J.    MEIGS.  275 

articles.     Amongst  those  who  were  known  to  have  been 
captured,  was  Joseph  Kelly,  a  lad  taken  from  Belville,  Va., 
in  1791,  and  whose  widowed  mother  now  lived  in  Marietta, 
her  husband  being  killed  at  the  same  time.     In  the  autumn 
of  1795,  the  Indians  had  brought  in  and  given  up  all  their 
prisoners  ;  yet  no  account  could  be  had  of  young  Kelly,  and 
it  was  quite  uncertain  whether  he  was  dead  or  alive,  as  no 
news  had  ever  been  received  of  him  since  his  captivity. 
But  as  the  Indians  seldom  or  never  put  boys  to  death,  after 
they  were  prisoners,  it  was  probable  he  was  yet  living,  and 
kept  back  by  some  family  who  had  become  greatly  attached 
to  him.     Although  nearly  all  hope  had  ceased  of  his  recov- 
ery, yet  Mr.  Meigs  continued  to  inquire  of  every  new  In- 
dian face  he  saw  at  the  store.     At  length  two  Indians  said 
they  knew  of  two  white  boys  on  the  heads  of  the  Auglaise 
river,  who  were  kept  back  by  their  owners.     Hoping  that 
one  of  these  boys  might  be  the  widow's  son,  he  immediately 
applied  to  Gen.  Wayne  for  a  messenger  to  be  sent  for  them. 
One  of  these  Indians,  as  a  guide,  and  a  white  man  were 
sent  out.     Joseph  had  been  adopted  into  the  family  of  an 
old  warrior,  named  Mishalena,  who  had  lost  five  sons  in 
the  wars  with  the  whites,  and  had  now  no  child  left  but  a 
daughter ;  and  yet  he  adopted  this  boy,  the  son  of  his  mor- 
tal enemies,  as  his  own,  and  ever  treated  him  as  such. 
What  a  lesson  for  the  professors  of  Christianity  !    Mr.  Kelly 
says  that  the  old  warrior  was  one  of  the  most  kind  and  be- 
nevolent men  that  he  ever  met  with  in  his  life,  as  well  as 
of  a  noble  and  commanding  appearance.     He  was  now  too 
old  for  war,  but  in  great  favor  with  the  tribe,  as  one  of  their 
most  able   counselors.      His    adopted  mother's    name  was 
Patepsa.     She  never  accepted  him  with  the  hearty  good- 
will   and    affection    of   Mishalena,   but   always    gave   him 
plenty  to  eat,  when  she  had  it.     Joseph  was  only  six  years 
old  when  adopted,  but  was  now  eleven.    He  parted  with  his 


270  li.    J.    MEIGS. 

Indian  parents  and  the  boys  of  the  tribe,  with  nearly  as 
much  regret  as  he  had  formerly  done  with  his  white  ones, 
lie  had  lived  with  them  so  long,  in  the  wild  freedom  of  the 
forest,  that  he  had  forgotten  his  native  language,  and  almost 
his  former  name ;  for  his  Indian  parents  had  given  him  a 
new  one,  Lalaque,  but  for  brevity,  spoken  Lala.  They 
accompanied  him  to  Greenville,  parting  with  him  very  re- 
luctantly, and  poor  Mishalena  was  now  left  in  his  old  age, 
like  a  deadened  forest  tree,  around  whose  roots  no  green 
shoot  appears.  As  a  parting  gift  he  presented  his  son  with 
a  beautiful  bow  and  arrows,  made  with  his  own  hands.  The 
boy  who  accompanied  him  was  named  Bill,  from  Kentucky, 
whose  family  were  all  killed  at  the  time  of  his  capture.  He 
had  forgotten  the  family  name,  but  had  been  adopted  by  a 
widow  woman,  who  had  no  children.  She  loved  him  with 
all  the  tenderness  of  a  natural  mother,  and  parted  with  him 
in  deep  sorrow.  On  the  arrival  of  the  two  boys  at  the  fort, 
Col.  Meigs  sent  for  the  tailor,  and  had  them  fitted  out  with 
new  warm  woolen  dresses,  after  the  fashion  of  the  whites, 
and  the  blanket  and  leggins  of  the  Indians  laid  aside.  A 
short  time  before,  he  had  written  to  Mrs.  Meigs,  that  no  dis- 
covery could  yet  be  made  of  the  widow's  son,  and  that  he 
greatly  feared  he  was  dead;  cautioning  her  not  to  let  the 
afflicted  woman  know  the  worst  of  his  fears.  Joseph's  mo- 
ther had  described  his  hair,  eyes,  and  looks,  so  accurately, 
that  at  the  first  glimpse  of  the  two  boys,  he  picked  him  out. 
The  Indian  interpreter  soon  confirmed  his  opinion,  by  talk- 
ing with  him  in  the  Shawanoe  dialect.  On  being  ques- 
tioned, he  remembered  the  names  of  his  brothers  and  sisters, 
and  that  his  own  name  was  Joseph  Kelly.  This  satisfied 
him  that  he  was  the  lost  son  of  the  sorrowing  widow,  who, 
for  the  whole  period  of  his  absence,  had  never  omitted  him 
in  her  daily  prayers,  or  sat  down  to  the  table  with  her  other 
children,  without  mentioning  his  name.     So   anxious  was 


R.    J.    MEIGS.  277 

this  good  and  kind-hearted  man  to  restore  him  to  the  be- 
reaved mother,  that  he  started,  in  February,  across  the 
swamps  and  pathless  forests  for  Marietta.  A  young,  active 
Shawanoe  Indian,  named  Thorn,  guided  the  party,  which 
consisted  of  six  soldiers  and  six  or  eight  horses,  through  the 
wilderness,  without  deviation,  and  struck  the  Muskingum 
river  at  Big  Rock,  a  noted  Indian  landmark,  twenty-four 
miles  above  Marietta. 

While  on  their  journey,  an  incident  occurred  which  places 
in  a  strong  light  the  acuteness  of  their  observation  and  tact 
in  tracing  their  way  through  the  woods.  During  a  cloudy 
and  snowy  day,  the  party  got  bewildered  in  a  thick  beech 
swamp.  Col.  Meigs  took  out  his  pocket  compass,  and  after 
examination,  said  the  course  lay  east.  Indian  Thorn  pointed 
to  the  southeast.  The  colonel  still  insisting  on  the  authority 
of  the  compass,  and  the  known  general  direction  of  the 
route,  the  Indian  became  vexed,  and  shouldering  his  rifle, 
muttered  in  broken  English,  "D — n  compass,"  and  pursued 
his  own  course.  In  a  few  minutes  travel,  Thorn's  judgment 
proved  to  be  right,  and  the  colonel  and  the  compass  wrong. 

The  party  reached  Marietta  early  in  March,  and  the  fer- 
vent, oft-repeated  prayer  of  the  widow  for  the  restoration 
of  her  lost  son,  was  at  length  answered,  to  the  great  joy 
and  thankfulness  of  Col.  Meigs,  by  whose  unwearied  exer- 
tions and  perseverance  it  had  been  accomplished,  as  well  as 
to  the  delight  of  the  mother. 

In  1798,  he,  with  Col.  Robert  Oliver,  was  elected  by  the 
people  of  Washington  county,  to  represent  them  in  the  ter- 
ritorial Legislature,  then  assembled  for  the  first  time.  In 
this  body  were  several  able  and  talented  men.  Col.  Meigs 
was  not  excelled  by  any  of  them  for  sound  sense  or  integrity, 
and  performed  his  duties  with  credit  to  himself  and  to  the 
people  who  had  elected  him. 

In  1801,  he  was  appointed  by  President  Jefferson,  Indian 


27  S  It.    J.     MK I  GS. 

agent  amongst  the  Cherokees,  where  he  resided  until  the 
time  of  his  death,  in  January,  1823.  The  inhabitants  of 
Marietta  parted  with  him  very  reluctantly,  holding  his  per- 
son and  virtues  in  the  highest  estimation.  His  upright, 
manly  conduct,  dignified  manners  and  kind  heart,  had  en- 
listed all  in  his  favor.  "  During  a  long  life  of  activity  and 
usefulness,  no  man  ever  sustained  a  character  more  irre- 
proachable than  Col.  Meigs,  lie  was  a  pattern  of  excellence 
as  a  patriot,  a  philanthropist,  and  a  Christian.  In  all  the 
vicissitudes  of  fortune,  the  duties  of  religion  were  strictly 
observed,  and  its  precepts  strikingly  exemplified.  In  the 
discharge  of  his  duties  among  the  Cherokees,  he  acquired 
their  highest  confidence.  They  loved  and  revered  him  as  a 
father,  denominating  him,  for  his  integrity  and  uprightness, 
the  White  Path." 

The  family  of  Col.  Meigs  was  not  numerous.  By  his  first 
wife  he  had  two  son3,  Return  Jonathan  and  John.  The 
former  was  one  of  the  governors  of  Ohio.  Timothy  was 
the  son  of  a  second  wife,  and  accompanied  his  father  to 
Georgia. 

In  person  Mr.  Meigs  was  thin  and  spare,  of  a  medium 
hight,  with  a  highly  intelligent  countenance ;  nose  Grecian, 
with  a  lofty,  bold  forehead ;  eyes  keen  and  black,  sparkling 
with  benevolence,  but  striking  with  awe  the  boldest  heart, 
when  bent  in  anger  on  the  guilty  or  undeserving;  active 
and  graceful  in  all  his  motions,  even  in  old  age  practicing 
the  athletic  sports  of  the  young  Indians  with  the  buoyancy 
of  youth.  He  died  suddenly,  at  the  age  of  eighty-three, 
full  of  the  Christian's  hope,  surrounded  by  the  sorrowing 
Cherokees,  who  mourned  his  death  with  deep  and  heart-felt 
grief. 


LIBRARY 

»»'vEfisl0//oHf£,aiNo,s 


v,lM' 


tfrrffa- 


GRIFFIN     GREENE,    ESQ. 

The  little  state  of  Rhode  Island,  so  fruitful  in  eminent 
and  brave  men,  was  the  birth-place  of  Mr.  Greene,  being 
born  on  the  20th  of  February,  1749,  in  the  town  of  Warwick. 
His  ancestors  were  from  England,  and  settled  in  Rhode 
Island  at  an  early  day.  Education,  at  that  period,  was  a 
minor  concern,  and  he  received  no  other  than  such  as  was 
afforded  by  the  common  or  public  schools.  At  an  early 
age  he  was  bred  to  the  smith  and  anchor-making  business ; 
few  men  of  that  day  being  able  to  live  without  the  aid  of 
some  handicraft  or  agricultural  pursuit.  It  was  the  age  of 
honest  industry.  Of  his  youth  and  childhood,  little  has 
been  preserved. 

At  a  suitable  time  of  life,  he  married  Miss  Sarah  Greene, 
of  the  same  town,  but  of  a  family  not  connected  by  blood 
with  his  own.  There  were  many  of  this  name  in  the  state, 
who  were  all  wealthy  in  lands,  and  ranked  high  amongst  the 
first  citizens  of  the  colony,  one  of  them  holding  the  office  of 
governor.  His  wife  was  a  sister  of  Col.  Christopher  Greene, 
who  commanded  the  noted  black  regiment,  which  was  one 
of  the  most  efficient  and  brave  in  the  service.  The  commis- 
sioned officers  were  white  men,  and  the  privates  negroes.  By 
this  marriage  he  had  four  children,  who  lived  to  manhood, 
viz.:  Richard,  Philip,  Griffin,  and  Susan.  The  descendants 
of  Richard  are  several  of  them  living  in  Ohio  :  the  others 
left  no  issue. 

Previous  to  the  commencement  of  hostilities  between  the 
colonists  and  the  mother  country,  Jacob  Greene,  a  cousin, 
and  himself  erected  a  forge  for  the  manufacture  of  iron. 
Before  the  discovery  of  steam-power,  a  stream  of  water  was 


280  GRIFFIN    GllEENE. 

necessary  to  work  the  machinery,  and  for  this  purpose  a 
spot  was  selected  on  the  Pawtuxet,  distant  about  five  miles 
from  the  head  of  Greenwich  bay,  the  nearest  point  where 
pigs  could  be  landed  from  vessels.  In  addition  to  the  ex- 
pense of  wagoning  them  over  a  rough  road  to  the  forge,  they 
had  to  be  transported  from  the  North  river,  and  when  man- 
ufactured into  bar  iron,  returned  to  the  village  for  sale.  It 
was  carried  on  during  the  war,  and  furnished  cannon  balls 
and  wrought  iron  for  the  use  of  the  country,  at  a  period 
when  such  articles  were  scarce  in  the  colony.  The  site  of 
the  old  works  is  now  occupied  by  cotton  factories. 

At  the  breaking  out  of  hostilities,  he  acted  with  his  coun- 
trymen in  throwing  off  the  yoke  of  Great  Britain,  for  which 
praiseworthy  deed  he  was  cast  out  of  the  synagogue  of  the 
Quakers,  to  which  sect  he  belonged,  at  the  same  time  with 
his  cousin,  Gen.  Nathaniel  Greene,  and  never  returned  to 
them  again.  During  the  war  he  became  acquainted  with 
many  leading  men  of  that  day,  with  whom  intercourse  was 
kept  up  in  after  life.  In  1775  he  commenced  his  military 
career,  by  serving  as  commissary  to  the  Rhode  Island  troops, 
although,  in  the  previous  year,  he  had  been  trained  to  mili- 
tary exercises,  as  a  volunteer  in  the  company  to  which 
Christopher  and  Nathaniel  belonged,  with  many  of  the  most 
active  and  prominent  young  men  in  the  colony.  In  1777 
he  was  paymaster  to  the  regiment  commanded  by  Christo- 
pher Greene,  and  during  the  attack  on  the  fort  at  Red  bank, 
was  exposed  to  the  shot  of  the  enemy,  in  taking  a  supply 
of  powder  to  his  countrymen.  This  act  he  performed  with 
great  intrepidity,  although  not  in  the  line  of  his  duty. 

In  1778,  his  cousin,  Gen.  Nathaniel  Greene,  with  whom 
he  had  been  brought  up  and  lived  in  the  closest  inti- 
macy, working  with  him  at  the  same  forge  in  the  manufac- 
ture of  anchors,  and  also  engaged  with  him  in  various 
mercantile  pursuits  connected  with  the  iron  business,  was 


GRIFFIN     GREENE.  281 

appointed,  by  Gen.  Washington,  qaai'termaster-general  of 

the  army.  lie  found  the  affairs  of  that  department  in  the 
greatest  disorder,  and  needing-  several  deputies,  his  cousin 
Griffin  Greene  was  selected  as  one  of  them.  Under  their 
efficient  control,  in  a  few  months  that  branch  of  the  public 
service,  so  important  to  the  welfare  of  an  army,  was  placed 
in  complete  order,  greatl}"  to  the  relief  and  satisfaction  of 
the  commander-in-chief.  He  was  employed  in  this  business 
until  near  the  time  of  Gen.  Greene's  appointment  to  the 
command  of  the  southern  army.  Connected  with  his  pur- 
chases of  provisions,  he  also  entered  into  that  of  merchan- 
dise :  many  goods  being  needed  for  the  use  of  the  troops, 
large  quantities  were  bought  from  Clark  and  Nightingale,  a 
celebrated  firm  of  that  day. 

During  the  whole  period  of  the  war,  a  correspondence 
was  kept  up  between  him  and  the  general :  a  number  of 
the  letters  having  been  preserved  among  the  family  papers, 
extracts  will  be  given,  as  interesting  specimens  of  the  thoughts 
of  the  master  minds  of  that  trying  era.  In  them  are  many 
sensible  remarks  on  men  and  measures,  especially  that  trou- 
blesome one  of  the  currency,  which,  iii  1779,  had  fallen  to 
its  lowest  ebb,  and  had  well  nigh  destroyed  the  country.  In 
April  of  that  year,  one  specie  dollar  was  worth  twenty  dol- 
lars of  the  paper-money  of  Congress.  This  depreciation 
of  the  currency,  with  the  heart-burnings  of  the  soldiery  and 
people  thereon,  was  one  of  the  main  reliances  of  the  king 
and  his  counselors,  for  the  subjugation  of  the  colonies. 
Money  and  credit  are  the  sinews  of  war,  and  of  both  these 
Congress  was  destitute.  Had  it  not  been  for  the  timely  aid 
of  France,  it  is  more  than  probable  that  the  independence 
of  America  would  not,  at  that  time,  have  been  achieved. 

The  policy  of  Congress  in  their  finances,  is  thus  com- 
mented on,  in  one  of  his  letters,  dated  at  camp,  May  18th, 
1779:    "The    Congress   should   appoint  a   Board   for  this 


282  G  11 1  ¥  F  L  N    GREENE. 

purpose  ;  but  they  arc  very  fond  of  reserving  all  their  powers 
within  their  own  body.  It  has  been  clear  to  me,  for  a  long 
time,  that  the  business  of  that  House  is  too  complex  and 
multifarious  to  be  digested  into  method  and  order.  They 
arc  always  in  a  hurry,  and  never  bring  anything  to  perfec- 
tion, until  its  advantages  are  lost.  I  mean  not  to  arraign 
their  intentions,  but  I  am  sure  their  policy  is  bad.  Two  things 
arc  essential  to  the  interests  of  these  states ;  one  is  that  the 
proceedings  of  Congress  be  more  generally  known ;  and  the 
other  is  that  their  authority  be  more  generally  acknowledged 
by  the  states." 

In  a  short  time  after  this,  a  board  of  treasury  was  estab- 
lished, and  by  the  aid  of  that  eminent  financier,  and  most 
excellent  man,  Robert  Morris,  their  monetary  affairs  were 
placed  in  a  more  propitious  train.  In  the  January  preceding. 
Gen.  Greene  was  in  Philadelphia,  and  thus  writes  to  Griffin: 
"The  luxuries  and  extravagance  of  this  city  exceed  any- 
thing you  ever  saw.  There  has  been  nothing  going  on  here, 
but  entertainments,  assemblies,  and  balls.  His  excellency, 
Gen.  Washington,  has  been  here  about  a  month,  and  the 
citizens  have  exerted  themselves  to  make  him  as  happy  as 
possible.  But  I  can  truly  say  I  feel  serious  amidst  festivity, 
and  gloomy  amongst  the  most  joyous.  The  extravagance 
of  the  times  is  very  unfriendly  to  a  republican  government, 
and  greatly  enervates  the  national  strength."  How  just 
and  true,  this  sentiment;  and  not  less  true  now,  than  then. 
The  thoughts  of  Gen.  Washington  and  this  excellent  man 
were  too  much  occupied  with  their  country's  cares,  to  enter, 
with  satisfaction,  into  the  amusements  of  the  careless  and 
the  gay. 

In  April  of  this  year,  the  French  minister  visited  the 
American  army  in  their  camp  at  Middlebrook,  and  was  re- 
ceived with  great  respect.  He  is  represented  as  one  of  the 
most  polite  men  of  the  age,  and  says,  "  The  alliance  with 


GRIFFIN    GREENE.  283 

France  is  a  most  happy  affair,  and  alleviates  a  thousand  of 
our  distresses." 

In  September,  1779,  Mr.  Greene  engaged  as  a  partner  in 
a  company  for  fitting  out  two  brigantines  as  privateers,  the 
coast  at  that  time  being  pretty  clear  of  British  ships  of  war. 
The}'  were  called  the  Black  and  the  Rattle  Snake ;  but  be- 
fore the  one  had  time  to  erect  its  head,  and  the  other  to  shake 
its  rattles,  in  defiance  of  the  British  lion,  they  were  driven 
on  shore  at  Sandy  hook,  in  April,  1780,  by  the  enemy's 
cruisers,  and  lost.  This  was  the  fate  of  many  American 
privateers,  and  in  the  ultimate,  it  is  probable,  as  much  was 
lost  as  won,  by  the  colonists,  in  this  nefarious  business.  It 
is  certain  that  the  loss  of  these  vessels  was  seriously  felt. 

In  the  spring  of  1780,  he  writes:  "Our  public  affairs  are 
under  great  embarrassments.  The  treasury  is  entirely  with- 
out money,  and  the  public  offices  without  credit.  Our  stock 
of  provisions  is  next  to  nothing,  and  the  troops  frequently 
upon  half  allowance  for  a  third  part  of  the  time,  and  many 
times  entirely  without.  In  a  word,  we  are  on  the  high  road 
to  starvation,  when  there  is  plenty  of  everything  in  the 
country,  and  only  wrant  ways  and  means  to  draw  it  out. 
Our  prospects  at  the  south  are  in  a  disagreeable  train,  and 
I  set  down  the  certain  loss  of  Charleston,  unless  some  very 
providential  intervention  occurs,  which  we  have  no  reason 
to  expect  in  favor  of  a  people  not  remarkable  for  religion 
or  piety."  This  prognostic  proved  correct,  as  the  place  sur- 
rendered a  short  time  after.  "  Upon  the  whole,  our  situation 
in  political  life  is  not  very  eligible,  neither  will  it  be  soon, 
unless  there  is  more  energy,  consistency,  and  good  policy 
pursued  by  our  civil  rulers.  We  want  men  of  liberality, 
sound  judgment,  and  attention  to  business,  to  conduct  our 
public  affairs.  Happy  is  that  nation,  which  has  wise  and 
honest  men  to  manage  national  matters." 

In  July,  the  Marquis  de  Lafayette  visited  Rhode  Island. 


284  Git  IF  FIN    GREENE. 

The  general  wrote  to  his  cousin  Griffin  and  brother  Jacob,  to 
pay  him  every  attention  due  to  his  rank  and  merit.  "I  hope 
the  inhabitants  of  the  state  will  exert  themselves  a  little  to 
convince  the  French  officers  that  we  give  them  a  most  cordial 
reception.  But  such  is  the  state  of  human  nature  and  the 
caprices  of  mankind,  that  it  is  ten  to  one  if  ever  we  part 
with  the  same  good-will  toward  each  other,  that  we  came 
together." 

Although  the  treason  of  Arnold  has  been  written  by  a  hun- 
dred hands,  here  is  a  fresh  account  of  it,  not  before  published. 
"Camp  Tappan,  September  29th,  1780. 

Treason,  treason!  of  the  blackest  kind,  has  been  most 
providentially  discovered.  Gen.  Arnold,  who  commanded  at 
West  Point,  was  in  contract  with  the  British  adjutant-gen- 
eral for  delivering  into  the  enemy's  hands,  all  the  forts  and 
fortifications  of  that  place.  The  plan  was  laid,  the  condi- 
tions settled,  and  the  time  fixed  for  the  execution.  Happily 
for  the  cause  of  America,  the  whole  was  discovered  before 
the  thing  was  ripe  for  execution.  The  adjutant-general  had 
been  up  to  King's  ferry  to  see  Gen.  Arnold,  and  on  his  re- 
turn to  New  York,  near  the  White  plains,  was  taken  up  by 
three  militia-men,  who  carried  him  prisoner  to  Maj.  Jame- 
son, of  Sheldon's  light-horse;  and  on  his  being  searched, 
plans  of  the  works,  the  strength  of  the  garrison,  and  a  hun- 
dred other  observations  necessary  to  be  known  in  order  to 
favor  an  attack,  were  all  made  out  in  Arnold's  own  hand- 
writing. They  were  immediately  sent  to  Gen.  Washington, 
who  was  then  on  his  return  from  Hartford.  But  unfortu- 
nately, Jameson,  from  a  false  delicacy,  reported  to  Gen. 
Arnold,  that  he  had  taken  prisoner  one  Anderson,  which 
gave  him  time  to  just  make  his  escape  before  Gen.  Wash- 
ington got  to  the  Point.  The  adjutant-general  and  one  Mr. 
Joseph  Smith,  arc  now  both  prisoners  in  this  camp,  and 
doubtless  will  be  hung  to-morrow.     We  have  only  to  lament 


GRIFFIN    GREENE.  285 

that  Arnold  is  not  to  grace  the  gallows  with  them.  It  ap- 
pears, from  an  inquiry  into  Arnold's  conduct,  that  he  is  the 
most  accomplished  villain  in  the  world:  nothing  can  exceed 
his  meanness.  I  am  called  upon  to  attend  a  court-martial, 
and,  therefore,  cannot  go  further  into  this  dark  and  wicked 
business.  The  militia  lads  that  took  him,  (Mr.  Andre,)  de- 
serve immortal  honor,  and  will  be  most  liberally  rewarded." 

Treason !  treason  !  The  sound  of  this  most  odious  word 
and  hateful  act  of  Arnold,  as  it  pealed  through  the  nation, 
turned  pale  the  cheeks  of  every  true  friend  to  his  country. 
It  was  more  dangerous  to  the  cause  of  freedom  than  the 
loss  of  several  battles.  Washington  knew  not  whom  to 
trust  in  this  alarming  crisis,  ignorant  as  he  was  of  the  ex- 
tent of  the  conspiracy.  But  a  few  days  reassured  him,  and 
with  such  men  as  Greene,  Putnam,  and  a  host  of  others  to 
rally  around  him,  in  whose  patriotism  he  could  safely  trust, 
his  confidence  was  restored,  and  the  affairs  of  the  army 
resumed  their  regular  train. 

In  a  letter  of  October  20th,  1780,  on  occasion  of  some 
losses  in  Mr.  Greene's  mercantile  business,  he  says,  "We 
have  one  consolation,  that  good  men  are  not  always  for- 
tune's greatest  favorites.  If  we  are  not  rich,  we  will  be 
honest;  and  if  we  are  not  respected  for  our  wealth,  we  will 
be  for  our  industry.  Your  judgment  is  good  in  business ; 
your  industry  and  attention  unquestionable.  Nothing  is 
wanting  but  the  smiles  of  fortune :  without  this  all  our  en- 
deavors are  in  vain:"  another  name  for  a  superintending 
providence  that  rules  the  affairs  of  men,  and  not  the  blind 
goddess  of  the  Romans.  "I  am  appointed  to  the  command 
of  the  southern  army,  and  am  now  just  setting  forward  on 
the  journey.  It  is  a  most  difficult  command,  and  hitherto 
has  proved  a  disgraceful  one  to  all  who  have  gone  that 
way.    I  wish  it  may  not  be  my  lot.    One  thing  I  shall  avoid 


28G  GRIFFIN    GREENE. 

if  possible :  that  is,  giving  the  public  just  grounds  for 
censuring  me.  If  I  am  unfortunate,  that  I  cannot  help*" 
The  result  proved  how  justly  he  estimated  the  difficulties  of 
that  weighty  affair,  and  how  nobly  he  conducted  the  south- 
ern campaigns,  for  his  own  and  his  country's  glory. 

In  July,  1781,  from  the  High  hills  of  Santee,  he  writes, 
"Thus  far  I  am  safe  and  in  good  health,  though  I  have  had 
several  very  narrow  escapes.  If  I  can  get  off  with  whole 
bones  and  a  decent  reputation,  it  is  more  than  I  expect. 
New  England  should  rejoice  that  she  has  really  felt  nothing 
of  the  war.  It  rages  here  like  a  fire  at  large,  and  destroys 
everything  before  it.  Such  destruction  and  waste,  such  mis- 
ery and  distress  as  this  country  affords,  have  not  been  seen 
in  America.  The  burning  of  a  town,  or  the  plunder  of  a 
few  farms,  are  nothing  to  the  cruelties  practiced  here.  But 
enough  of  this  disagreeable  subject." 

In  one  of  his  last  letters,  dated  at  Charleston,  in  May,  1783, 
he  writes,  "I  beg  leave  to  congratulate  you  upon  the  happy 
issue  of  the  war.  It  affords  me  the  highest  satisfaction  to 
find  my  judgment  and  opinions  confirmed  by  experience. 
The  Revolution  has  been  important  and  successful,  although 
not  very  promising  in  the  beginning.  It  has  more  than 
once  been  in  doubt,  but  I  always  trusted  for  success  in  the 
general  prejudices  of  human  nature.  It  would  have  aggra- 
vated my  own  misfortunes,  to  have  led  my  friends  into  ruin 
and  disgrace,  in  the  same  manner  as  it  now  affords  me 
pleasure  in  having  contributed  to  their  happy  deliverance." 
At  the  close,  he  says,  "Remember  me  affectionately  to  all  at 
Potowamut:"  the  place  where  he  worked  at  anchor-making 
before  the  war.  "  Don't  forget  my  old  friend,  Master  Max- 
well, and  ask  him  what  he  thinks  of  'the  mighty  power  of 
Britain  now?' " 

The  handwriting  of  Gen.  Greene  was  strong,  nervous,  and 


GRIFFIN    GREENE.  287 

bold;  greatly  resembling  that  of  Gen.  Washington,  whom  he 
more  nearly  imitated  in  vigor  of  mind  and  excellence,  of 
character,  than  any  other  of  his  generals. 

During  the  time  of  the  war,  while  the  British  ileet  was 
lying  in  the  harbor  of  Newport,  they  were  obliged  to  put 
suddenly  to  sea,  on  account  of  the  French  fleet,  threatening 
to  blockade  them.  Some  transport  ships  and  a  small  frig- 
ate called  the  Flora,  were  sunk,  to  keep  them  from  the 
enemy.  They  lay  in  rather  shoal  water,  a,nd  at  low  ebb 
tides  a  part  of  their  hulls  was  above  the  surface.  In  1780, 
before  the  close  of  the  war,  the  fertile  mind  of  Mr.  Griffin 
Greene  devised  a  plan  for  raising  them  from  their  oozy  bed, 
in  which  his  cousin  Jacob  assisted  him.  By  the  aid  of  a 
diving-bell,  a  man  went  down  and  closed  up  the  holes  by 
which  they  were  scuttled.  A  powerful  forcing  pump,  dis- 
charging twenty-five  hundred  hogsheads  an  hour,  worked 
by  horses  in  a  flatboat  alongside,  enabled  him  so  effectually 
to  heave  the  water  from  their  holds,  that  with  the  assistance 
of  lighters,  they  rose  to  the  surface,  and  once  more  floated 
on  the  ocean.  After  the  close  of  the  war,  the  commerce  of 
the  new  republic  being  at  a  low  ebb,  and  no  demand  for 
ships,  he  took  the  Flora  to  France  for  sale.  This  transac- 
tion detained  him  about  two  years,  in  which  time  he  visited 
Holland  and  the  adjacent  countries. 

Soon  after  his  return,  the  project  for  settling  a  New  Eng- 
land colony  on  the  banks  of  the  Ohio,  was  matured  by  some 
of  the  officers  of  the  Revolution,  amongst  whom  were  many 
of  his  acquaintance,  especially  Gen.  Varnum,  a  leading  man 
in  carrying  out  the  enterprise.  After  closing  his  partner- 
ship concerns,  and  selling  out  to  his  cousin  Jacob,  he  joined 
the  company,  and  invested  a  part  of  his  money  in  their 
lands.  In  1788  he  moved  his  family  to  Marietta,  loading 
three  large  wagons  with  his  household  goods,  and  all  kinds 
of  mechanical  and  agricultural  implements.    Amongst  other 


388  Gil  11  FIN     GEEENE 

items,  was  a  large  library  of  valuable  books;  knowing  that 
the  mind  needed  food,  as  well  as  the  body,  even  when  sur- 
rounded by  a  wilderness.  The  first  anchors  made  on  the 
Ohio  river,  for  the  brig  St.  Clair,  in  the  year  1800,  were 
made  under  bis  direction.  Soon  after  his  arrival  at  Mari- 
etta, Gov.  St.  Clair  commissioned  him  as  a  justice  of  the 
peace,  and  one  of  the  judges  of  the  Court  of  Quarter  Ses- 
sions. In  1789  he  was  appointed,  by  the  agents  of  the  Ohio 
Company,  a  director,  in  the  place  of  Gen.  Varnum  deceased, 
which  post  he  continued  to  occupy  until  the  close  of  their 
affairs.  In  1790  he  joined  the  colony  at  Belpre,  and  was 
a  leading  man  in  that  settlement,  solemnizing  marriages, 
and  settling  civil  disputes  amongst  the  pioneers. 

In  January,  1791,  the  Indian  war  commenced,  by  the  de- 
struction of  the  settlement  at  Big  Bottom,  the  news  of  which 
arrived  while  he  was  at  Marietta,  attending  court,  It  was 
directly  adjourned,  and  each  man  hurried  home  as  fast  as 
he  could,  expecting  to  meet  the  enemy  on  the  way,  and  find 
their  cabins  and  families  destroyed.  But  fortunately  the  In- 
dians retreated  without  further  mischief.  In  the  erection 
of  Farmers'  castle,  he  took  an  active  part,  and  lived  there 
with  his  family  five  years  during  the  war.  For  the  whole 
of  this  period,  he  regularly  attended  the  sitting  of  the  courts, 
making  his  journeys  up  and  down  by  water,  in  a  canoe,  ex- 
posed to  the  rifles  of  the  Indians. 

His  active  mind  could  not  be  idle  while  confined  to  the 
castle,  but  was  busily  occupied  in  studying  out  useful  and 
curious  machinery.  He  assisted  Capt.  Devol  in  planning 
the  model  of  a  floating  mill,  from  the  recollection  of  one 
he  had  seen  in  Holland;  probably  moved  by  the  tidal  cur- 
rents, lie  also  spent  more  than  a  year  in  planning  a  self- 
moving  machine,  for  perpetual  motion,  thinking  it  might  be 
applied  to  the  propulsion  of  boats  on  the  Ohio  river.  When 
built,  it  moved  with  the  accuracy  and  steadiness  of  a  nice 


GRIFFIN    GREENE.  289 

time-piece,  but  after  running  a  few  hours,  would  finally  come 
to  a  stand-still,  in  spite  of  the  efforts  of  its  inventor,  being 
bound  by  the  laws  of  gravitation,  which  it  had  not  power 
to  resist.  It  was  reluctantly  abandoned,  and  the  curious 
wheels  and  levers  with  which  it  was  made,  were  in  being  a 
few  years  since,  lying  in  the  garret  of  the  old  Mansion  house 
in  Marietta,  amidst  the  dust  and  rubbish  of  by-gone  days. 

In  1794,  when  salt  was  worth  six  or  eight  dollars  a  bushel, 
he  projected  an  expedition  into  the  Indian  country,  near  the 
Scioto  river,  for  the  discovery  of  the  salt  springs,  said  to  be 
worked  by  the  savages,  near  the  present  town  of  Jackson. 
At  the  hazard  of  his  own  life  and  all  those  with  him,  ten  or 
twelve  in  number,  he  succeeded  in  finding  the  saline  water, 
and  boiled  some  of  it  down  on  the  spot,  in  their  camp  kettle, 
making  about  a  table  spoonful  of  salt.  While  here  he 
narrowly  escaped  death  from  the  rifle  of  an  Indian,  who 
discovered  them  unseen  by  the  party,  and  after  the  peace 
related  the  circumstance  of  his  raising  his  rifle  twice  to  fire 
at  a  tall  man  who  had  a  tin  cup  strung  to  his  girdle  on  the 
loins,  and  who  was  known  to  be  Mr.  Greene.  As  he  might 
miss  his  object,  being  a  long  shot,  and  be  killed  himself,  he 
desisted  and  hurried  back  to  the  Indian  village,  below  the 
present  town  of  Chillicothe,  for  aid.  A  party  of  twenty 
warriors  turned  out  in  pursuit,  and  came  on  to  the  bank  of 
the  Ohio,  at  Leading  creek,  a  few  minutes  after  the  whites? 
had  left  it  with  their  boat,  and  were  in  the  middle  of  the 
river.  They  were  seen  by  the  men  in  the  boat,  who  felt 
how  narrowly  and  providentially  they  had  escaped. 

The  right  of  this  discovery  was  sold  to  a  merchant  in 
Philadelphia  for  fifteen  hundred  dollars,  and  divided  with  his 
partners. 

In  1795,  after  the  perpetual  motion  had  become  an  ac- 
knowledged failure,  he  turned  his  attention  to  the  feasibility 

of  applying  steam  to  the  moving  of  boats  on  the  western 
19 


290  GRIFFIN    GREENE. 

waters,  and  invented  an  engine  so  perfect  in  its  model  as  to 
attract  the  confidence  of  Mr.  Elijah  Backus,  a  man  of  dis- 
cernment, and  owner  of  the  island  opposite  to  Farmers' 
castle,  and  since  known  as  Blennerhasset's.  He  became 
jointly  concerned  in  the  project,  and  about  the  year  1796, 
they  visited  Philadelphia  and  employed  an  ingenious  me- 
chanic to  build  a  steam  engine.  In  this  enterprise  they  ex- 
pended about  a  thousand  dollars.  The  man  proved  to  be 
unskillful  or  unfaithful,  and  the  work  was  dropped  without 
being  finally  put  to  the  test. 

In  January,  1802,  he  was  appointed  postmaster  at  Ma- 
rietta, where  he  had  previously  moved  his  family,  in  place 
of  David  Putnam,  Esq.,  removed  by  G.  Granger.  This 
office  he  held  until  his  death.  In  July,  1802,  he  was  ap- 
pointed collector  for  the  district  of  Marietta,  under  the 
revenue  laws  of  the  United  States,  by  Thomas  Jefferson. 
He  was  also  inspector  for  the  port  of  Marietta,  ships  being 
built  and  cleared  from  that  place.  After  his  decease,  his 
son  Philip  held  the  post-office  to  the  period  of  his  death,  in 
1806,  when  it  was  given  to  Griffin  Greene,  jun. 

He  died  in  June,  1804,  aged  fifty -five  years,  after  a  linger- 
ing illness  which  he  bore  with  patience  and  fortitude,  fully 
persuaded  of  a  happy  immortality. 

Mr.  Greene  was  a  man  of  intelligent  aspect,  quick  appre- 
ticnsion,  and  a  ready,  vigorous  application  of  his  mind  to 
any  subject  before  him.  In  person  he  was  tall,  of  genteel 
and  accomplished  manners,  having  seen  and  associated 
with  much  refined  company  and  men  of  talents.  His  dress 
was  that  of  the  fashionable  days  of  the.  Revolution,  and 
very  becoming  to  one  of  his  stature.  As  a  man  of  genius 
and  intellect,  he  ranked  with  the  first  of  the  Ohio  Company's 
settlers,  abounding  as  it  did  with  able  men. 


HON.    PAUL    FEARING. 

Mr.  Fearing  was  born  in  Wareham,  county  of  Plymouth, 
Mass.,  the  28th  of  February,  1762,  and  was  the  son  of  Noah 
and  Mary  Fearing.  His  parents  were  industrious,  hon- 
est people,  with  no  pretensions  to  distinction  above  the 
class  of  common  farmers,  who  formed  the  glory  and  the 
strength  of  the  country,  before  and  at  the  time  of  the  strug- 
gle for  independence.  He  had  one  brother  older  than  him- 
self, and  one  sister  younger.  Lucy  married  Mr.  Wyllis,  an 
eminent  attorney  of  Massachusetts. 

Of  his  early  childhood  but  little  is  known ;  but  as  the  boy 
is  said  to  be  the  father  of  the  man,  he  was  doubtless  an  up- 
right, open-hearted  youth.  The  minister  of  the  parish  pre- 
pared him  for  college,  as  was  common  in  that  day,  which 
he  must  have  entered  before  the  close  of  the  war,  as  he 
graduated  in  1785,  at  a  time  when  the  resources  of  the 
country  were  at  the  lowest  ebb.  From  some  reverses  in  the 
fortune  of  his  father,  about  the  period  of  his  graduation,  he 
was  unable  to  assist  his  son  in  the  payment  of  the  customary 
fee  on  that  occasion,  and  young  Fearing  was  in  danger  of 
missing  the  honors  of  the  university,  for  the  want  of  a  small 
sum  of  money.  At  this  unpleasant  crisis,  Joseph  Barrel,  a 
gentleman  of  Boston,  heard  accidentally  of  the  circum- 
stance, and  kindly  proffered  the  loan  of  the  requisite  sum, 
which  was  gratefully  accepted.  Having  decided  on  law, 
for  a  profession,  he  commenced  the  study  in  May,  1786,  in 
the  office  of  Esq.  Swift,  of  Windham,  Conn.,  where  he  re- 
mained nearly  two  years,  and  was  admitted  as  an  attor- 
ney in  the  courts  of  law  of  that  state,  on  the  19th  of  Sep- 
tember, 1787,  by  Richard  Law,  judge  of  the  supreme  court. 


292  PAUL    FEA1UNG. 

]n  July  he  was  enabled  to  refund  the  money  to  Mr.  Bar- 
rel, and  notes  in  a  brief  journal  of  passing  events,  "I  shall 
feel  under  obligation  to  Mr.  Barrel,  and  am  to  pay  the  in- 
terest by  forgiving  fees  to  some  poor  client."  This  act  still 
further  elucidates  the  benevolent  heart  of  his  friend,  and 
proves  that  he  felt  good-will  toward  all  mankind. 

During  this  year  the  Ohio  Company  was  matured,  for  es- 
tablishing a  colony  in  the  Northwest  Territory,  and  was  a 
general  topic  of  conversation  in  New  England.  The  glow- 
ing descriptions  of  the  country  and  climate  in  the  valley  of 
the  Ohio,  caught  the  fancy  of  many  young  men,  as  well  as 
older  persons,  and  he  decided  on  visiting  that  distant  region. 
On  the  1st  of  May,  1788,  he  bid  adieu  to  his  friends,  and 
embarked  at  Boston  in  a  vessel,  by  the  way  of  Baltimore,  for 
Muskingum,  where  he  arrived  on  the  16th  of  that  month. 
Here  he  put  his  trunk  into  a  wagon,  and  commenced  the 
journey  across  the  mountains  on  foot.  When  he  reached 
the  little  village  of  Fannetsburgh,  at  the  foot  of  the  first 
ranges,  he  was  inoculated  with  the  small-pox,  having  been 
exposed  to  the  disease  in  Baltimore.  The  eruption  came 
out  while  he  was  on  the  journey,  but  it  does  not  appear  that 
he  laid  by,  on  account  of  it,  although  detained  two  or  three 
days  by  the  breaking  down  of  the  wagon.  He  reached 
Pittsburg  the  10th  of  June,  and  embarked  the  same  day, 
in  a  boat  for  Marietta,  where  he  arrived  on  the  16th.  On 
the  4th  of  July,  he  says,  Gen.  Varnum  delivered  an  ora- 
tion, and  a  public  dinner  was  given  in  honor  of  the  day. 
At  this  feast  was  served  up  a  famous  fish,  called  the  Pike, 
that  weighed  a  hundred  pounds.  The  dinner  was  spread 
under  a  long  bowery  at  the  mouth  of  the  Muskingum. 
Many  patriotic  toasts  were  given,  and  guns  fired  from  Fort 
Harmer.  About  twenty  families  came  on  from  New  Eng- 
land, in  the  course  of  the  summer  and  autumn.  In  May 
and  June,  Judges  Parsons  and  Varnum,  with  Col.  Sargent, 


PAUL    FEARING.  293 

secretary  of  the  territory,  arrived,  and  on  the  9th,  Gov.  St. 
Clair.  The  15th  of  that  month  he  delivered  his  inaugural 
address,  in  presence  of  the  judges,  officers  of  the  fort,  and 
the  assembled  citizens  of  the  territory.  It  was  responded 
to,  on  the  part  of  the  people,  by  Gen.  Rufus  Putnam.  On 
the  20th  of  July  he  listened  to  the  first  sermon  ever  preached 
in  the  English  tongue  northwest  of  the  Ohio,  by  the  Rev. 
Mr.  Breck  from  Massachusetts.  The  Moravian  missionaries 
had  preached  in  the  Delaware  tongue,  at  Shoenbrun  and 
their  mission  stations  on  the  Tuscarawas  river,  as  early  as 
twenty  years  before  this  time.  On  the  2d  of  September, 
1788,  the  first  Court  of  Common  Pleas  was  held  in  the  north- 
west block-house  of  Campus  Martius,  when  he  was  admitted 
as  an  attorney,  and  on  the  9th  of  that  month,  received  the 
following  certificate  from  two  of  the  United  States  judges : 

"The  undersigned,  judges  of  the  territory  of  the  United 
States,  northwest  of  the  river  Ohio,  make  known  that  they 
have  admitted  Paul  Fearing,  Esq.,  an  attorney  at  law  of 
said  court,  and  have  given  unto  him  permission  to  appear 
before,  and  practice  in,  any  and  all  the  Courts  of  Record, 
and  others  that  are  or  shall  be  erected  in  the  said  territory. 

Samuel  H.  Parsons, 
James  M.  Varnum. 

Marietta,  September  9th,  1788." 

On  the  9th  of  this  month  the  Court  of  Quarter  Sessions 
sat  for  the  first  time,  and  he  was  appointed  attorney,  or 
counsel,  in  behalf  of  the  United  States,  for  the  county  of 
Washington,  which  was  the  first  organized  in  the  territory. 
But  little  law  business  was  done  this  year,  the  attention  of 
the  settlers,  as  well  as  that  of  Mr.  Fearing,  being  given  to 
the  clearing  of  lands,  and  making  preparations  for  a  per- 
manent home  in  the  wilderness. 

In  December  the  Indians  of  several  tribes  came  in  to 
Fort  Harmer,  to  make  a  treaty  of  amity  with  the  United 


294  .  PAUL    FEARING. 

States,  under  the  superintendence  of  Gov.  St.  Clair,  who  is 
styled  commissioner  plenipotentiary.  It  was  a  slow  affair, 
the  Indians  being  much  divided  as  to  the  policy  of  the 
measure,  some  declining  to  treat  at  all,  unless  the  Ohio 
river  was  made  the  boundary  between  their  possessions  and 
the  whites ;  although,  at  former  treaties,  they  had  ceded  to 
the  United  States  a  large  portion  of  the  present  state  of  Ohio. 
They  saw  with  feelings  of  anger  and  regret,  the  gradual 
encroachments  of  the  whites  on  their  country,  and  that  in  a 
few  years  they  would  be  driven  beyond  the  Mississippi. 
They  finally  made  a  treaty,  agreed  to  by  a  portion,  only,  of 
the  tribes,  and  these  did  not  adhere  to  it  long.  In  the  fol- 
lowing year  their  country  on  the  Miami  was  invaded  by 
Gen.  Harmer,  and  the  war  actually  commenced  by  the 
Americans.  It  was  a  disastrous  campaign,  and  terminated 
in  favor  of  the  Indians. 

The  last  of  January,  1789,  Mr.  Fearing  set  out  on  a  jour- 
ney to  New  England,  in  company  with  several  persons, 
amongst  whom  was  Gen.  Parsons.  They  went  up  the  Ohio 
in  a  boat,  but  when  about  half  way  to  Wheeling,  the  float- 
ing ice  became  so  troublesome  that  they  left  the  river  and 
went  up  by  land.  The  travel  over  the  mountains  was  ac- 
complished on  horseback,  in  twenty-six  days,  from  Wheeling 
to  Middleborough,  in  Massachusetts,  when  at  this  time  it  can 
be  done  in  three  or  four  days,  so  great  are  the  improvements 
in  travel.  He  returned  in  August,  by  way  of  Alexandria, 
and  being  a  fine  pedestrian,  again  crossed  the  mountains  on 
foot.  He  reached  Red  Stone,  a  famous  port  for  boats,  on 
the  Monongahela,  on  the  14th  of  that  month,  and  from  the 
low  stage  of  water,  had  to  wait  until  the  2Gth  of  November, 
for  a  rise  in  theTiver,  whereas  it  was  usually  navigable  as 
early  as  September.  There  was  no  road  through  the  wil- 
derness, nor  any  inhabitants,  the  larger  portion  of  the  way. 
While    waiting   here    in   daily   expectation    of   rain,   Com 


PAUL    FEARING.  295 

Whipple  came  on  with  his  family  and  that  of  his  son-in- 
law,  Col.  Sproat.  With  them  he  embarked  in  a  small  boat, 
and  reached  Marietta  in  four  days,  on  the  30th  of  the 
month. 

The  following  year  was  passed  in  attending  to  his  law 
business,  which  began  to  increase  some,  as  the  emigration 
this  season  was  very  great,  being  the  year  before  the  war 
began  on  the  Ohio  Company  settlements.  In  November  he 
was  appointed  a  deputy  contractor  for  supplying  the  troops 
at  Fort  Harmer  with  fresh  meat,  at  the  low  rate  of  thirteen 
dollars  and  thirty-three  cents  a  month,  and  rations.  Labor 
of  all  kinds  was  at  a  depressed  state,  a  common  hand  on  a 
farm  getting  only  four  dollars,"  and  a  private  soldier  three 
dollars.  Money  was  very  scarce.  This  post  he  held  until 
the  close  of  the  war,  and  the  avails  of  it  aided  much  in  his 
support,  at  a  time  when  all  were  suffering  under  the  pres- 
sure of  want. 

From  his  first  arrival  in  the  country  he  kept  a  journal  of 
the  weather,  freshets  in  the  Ohio,  &c,  which  are  valuable 
in  comparing  our  present  seasons  with  those  of  the  first 
settlement  of  the  country.  From  his  notes  it  is  ascertained 
that  the  weather,  previous  to  the  assault  on  the  block-house 
at  Big  Bottom,  was  very  cold,  and  the  Muskingum  was 
crossed  on  the  ice  from  the  22d  of  December  to  the  11th  of 
January,  which  gave  the  Indians  every  facility  for  making 
the  attack.  In  the  course  of  the  summer  of  1791,  Gen.  St. 
Clair  invaded  the  Indian  country,  and  was  defeated  on  the 
4th  of  November,  the  news  of  which  did  not  reach  Marietta 
until  the  4th  of  December,  when  it  was  brought  by  Maj. 
Denny,  on  his  way  with  dispatches  to  Philadelphia,  so  dif- 
ficult and  slow  was  the  intercourse  between  the  settlements 
in  the  wilderness.  There  were  no  mails  until  1794,  when 
packet-boats  were  established  from  Wheeling  to  Cincinnati. 


296  PAUL    FEARING. 

The  Indians  had  full  command  of  all  the  country  between 
the  lakes  and  the  river,  and  no  dispatch  could  be  sent 
that  way. 

Mr.  Fearing's  first  attempt  as  an  advocate  before  the 
Court  of  Quarter  Sessions,  was  rather  discouraging  to  his 
hopes  as  an  orator.  He  rose  with  great  diffidence,  being  nat- 
urally modest,  and  was  only  able  to  say,  "  May  it  please  your 
honors — may  it  please  your  honors"  —  another  long  pause, 
when  he  said,  "  I  have  forgotten  what  I  intended  to  speak," 
and  took  his  seat.  This  embarrassment  vanished  in  his 
next  trial,  and  he  was  able  to  deliver  himself  with  fluency 
and  fine  effect.  His  frank,  manly  civility,  and  sound  dis- 
criminating mind,  soon  made  him  a  favorite  with  the  peo- 
ple, as  well  as  the  courts,  and  he  had  at  his  command  much 
of  the  law  business  of  the  county.  The  Hon.  R.  J.  Meigs 
was  his  first  competitor  at  the  bar,  and  for  the  favor  of  the 
public.  Many  well  contested  battles  were  fought,  and 
many  knotty  cases  unraveled  by  these  early  combatants  for 
fame.  Mr.  Meigs  was  the  most  prompt  and  witty,  with  a 
ready  flow  of  language,  and  Mr.  Fearing  the  most  indus- 
trious and  patient  in  investigation,  so  that,  in  final  results, 
they  were  very  well  matched.  They  were  the  only  attorneys 
until  1791. 

The  following  is  a  list  of  the  lawyers  who  practiced  at 
the  courts  of  Washington  county,  with  the  time  of  their  ad- 
mission, until  the  close  of  the  territorial  government,  taken 
from  the  records  of  the  courts :  Paul  Fearing,  September, 
1788;  R.  J.  Meigs,  1789;  Dudley  Odlin,  March,  1791 ;  Mat- 
thew Backus,  June,  1793;  William  Littel,  June,  1797;  Sol- 
omon Sibley,  September,  1797;  David  Putnam,  autumn, 
1798;  Edwin  Putnam,  1799;  Wyllis  Silliman,  June,  1801; 
Philemon  Beecher,  March,  1802;  Lewis  Cass,  March,  1803; 
William  Woodbridge,  1804;  Charles  Hammond,  1804.    The 


PAUL    FEARING.  297 

names  of  several  of  these  early  attorneys  are  identified 
with  the  history  of  the  country,  holding  public  posts  of  the 
first  importance. 

The  Courts  of  Quarter  Session  and  Common  Pleas  were 
held  each  four  times  in  a  year.  The  United  States  Court 
also  held  four  sessions  in  a  year,  but  at  wide  and  distant 
places,  viz. :  at  Detroit,  the  first  Tuesday  in  May ;  at  Port 
Vincent,  the  second  Tuesday  in  June ;  at  Cincinnati,  the  first 
Tuesday  in  October ;  and  at  Marietta,  the  second  Tuesday 
in  November.  Mr.  Fearing  attended  regularly  in  this  court 
at  Marietta,  and  sometimes  at  Cincinnati,  but  the  distance 
was  so  great,  and  the  mode  of  travel  so  slow,  that  it  was  a 
tedious  labor. 

In  1792,  he  was  admitted  an  advocate  in  the  Court  of 
Probate.  The  following  is  the  form  of  the  oath,  preserved 
amongst  his  papers,  in  his  own  handwriting :  "  I  swear  that 
I  will  do  no  falsehood,  nor  consent  to  the  doing  of  any,  in 
the  courts  of  justice;  and  if  I  know  of  any  intention  to 
commit  any,  I  will  give  knowledge  thereof  to  the  justices  of 
said  courts,  or  some  of  them,  that  it  may  be  prevented. 
I  will  not  willingly  or  wittingly,  promote  or  sue  any  false, 
groundless,  or  unlawful  suit,  nor  give  aid  or  consent  to  the 
same,  and  I  will  conduct  myself  in  the  office  of  an  attorney 
within  the  said  courts,  according  to  the  best  of  my  knowl- 
edge and  discretion,  and  with  all  good  fidelity,  as  well  to 
the  courts  as  my  clients.     So  help  me,  God. 

Paul  Fearing. 

Washington  county,  ss." 

"  Sworn  to  in  the  General  Court  of  Quarter  Session,  March 
12th,  1793,  before 

Joseph  Gilman,  commissioner." 

The  spirit  and  letter  of  the  above  oath  were  always  kept 
in  good  faith  while  he  was  an  attorney,  as  well  as  in  all  his 


298  PAUL    FEABING 

transactions  of  private  life.  Honest)',  candor,  and  fair 
dealing,  were  cardinal  virtues  which  he  never  violated. 

When  the  troops  left  Fort  Ilarmer,  Maj.  Doughty,  an  in- 
timate friend,  made  him  a  present  of  his  dwelling-house,  a 
well  finished  log  building,  standing  in  the  southwest  angle 
of  the  fort.  To  this  was  also  added  the  contents  of  his  garden, 
planted  with  fruit  trees;  amongst  them  was  a  fine  peach, 
still  cultivated  in  Marietta,  and  called  to  this  day,  the 
Doughty  peach.  During  the  war,  Mr.  Fearing  and  his  father 
occupied  this  house,  which  afforded  a  safe  retreat  from  the 
attacks  of  Indians,  who  frequently  appeared  on  the  hill 
back  of  the  garrison,  where  they  had  a  view  of  the  cleared 
fields  in  the  bottoms,  arid  watch  for  any  one  who  might  be 
out  at  work,  a  distance  from  the  walls.  Several  were  shot 
at,  and  one  or  two  killed,  within  a  quarter  of  a  mile.  Peace 
was  established  in  August,  1795. 

Late  in  November  of  this  year,  Mr.  Fearing  had  a  narrow 
escape  from  drowning.  He  was  coming  up  from  the  settle- 
ment at  Belpre  in  a  canoe,  which  was  the  usual  mode  of 
travel  for  many  years.  Although  a  pretty  skillful  canoeman, 
yet,  having  with  him  in  the  boat  his  future  wife  and  her  sister, 
his  attention  was  taken  up  with  them,  or  from  some  other 
cause,  in  passing  by  a  fallen  tree-top  which  projected  several 
rods  into  the  river,  the  canoe  upset,  and  threw  them  all  into 
the  water.  None  of  them  could  swim  but  his  boy,  Tousant 
Shoeman,  then  about  fourteen  years  old,  who  soon  reached 
the  land.  In  their  attempts  to  hold  on  to  the  canoe,  it  would 
roll  from  their  grasp.  Miss  Betsy  Rouse,  the  sister  of  his 
intended  wife,  an  active,  courageous  girl,  exerted  herself  so 
effectually,  that  she  soon  reached  the  shore,  after  having 
been  at  the  bottom  once  or  twice.  Cynthia  being  clad  with 
a  large  camlet  cloak,  was  more  buoyant,  and  kept  upon 
the  surface,  sometimes  clinging  to  the  canoe,  and  at  others 


PAUL    FEARING.  299 

floating  near  it.  After  struggling  along  in  this  way  for  sev- 
eral rods,  Mr.  Fearing  encouraging  her  with  his  voice,  and 
retaining  fully  his  presence  of  mind,  although  unable  to  as- 
sist her  in  any  other  way,  they  both  reached  so  near  the 
shore  as  to  be  able  to  get  hold  of  the  willow  bushes,  and 
were  helped  to  the  dry  land  by  the  boy,  nearly  famished 
with  the  cold,  and  exhausted  with  their  struggles,  as  there 
was  considerable  ice  in  the  river  at  the  time.  Fortunately, 
a  large  flatboat,  laden  with  goods,  came  in  sight,  and  at 
their  request  landed  and  took  them  on  board.  By  wrapping 
them  in  warm  blankets,  and  giving  them  hot  drinks,  they 
were  soon  restored  to  comfort.  The  boat  landed  them  at 
Farmers'  castle ;  and  their  next  attempt  to  reach  Marietta 
proved  more  fortunate,  taking  with  them  an  experienced 
canoeman.  When  we  consider  the  rare  occurrence  of  flat- 
boats,  and  especially  one  at  this  particular  juncture,  with 
everything  on  board  necessary  to  the  comfort  of  the  ship- 
wrecked company,  and  that  there  was  no  house  between 
Belpre  and  Marietta,  where  they  could  receive  aid,  and  the 
fact  of  their  being  enabled  to  escape  from  the  watery  ele- 
ment under  such  hopeless  circumstances,  the  whole  affair 
may  be  viewed  as  one  of  those  plain  and  manifest  interpo- 
sitions of  Providence,  in  overruling  and  guiding  the  destinies 
of  man,  while  a  sojourner  in  this  ever-changing  world. 

On  the  28th  of  this  month  Mr.  Fearing  was  married  to 
Miss  Cynthia  Rouse,  at  his  own  house  at  Marietta.  The 
ordinance  was  performed  by  the  Hon.  Joseph  Gilman,  one 
of  the  judges  of  the  territory.  The  fruits  of  this  marriage 
were  a  daughter  and  two  sons. 

In  the  year  1797  he  received  the  appointment  of  judge 
of  probate,  for  Washington  county,  under  the  seal  and  com- 
mission of  Winthrop  Sargent,  then  acting  as  governor  of 
the  territory.  After  the  close  of  the  war  the  country  filled 
up  rapidly,  and  in  1799  the  first  legislature  held  its  session 


300  PAUL    FEARING. 

in  Cincinnati.  In  1800  the  second  session  was  held,  and  in 
this  he  was  a  member.  During  this  period  he  was  chosen 
a  delegate,  to  represent  the  territory  in  Congress,  which  post 
he  filled  for  1801  and  1802,  with  credit  to  himself  and  the 
entire  satisfaction  of  the  people.  About  this  time,  the  two 
great  political  parties  of  Federalist  and  Republican  were 
organized  all  over  the  United  States,  and  even  in  this  remote 
wilderness  the  voice  of  political  strife  was  loud  and  boister- 
ous. He  was  attached  to  the  Federal  party,  which  at  this 
time  was  the  most  numerous. 

After  his  return  to  private  life  he  resumed  the  practice  of 
the  law,  with  increased  reputation.  His  manly,  open  coun- 
tenance, with  his  well  known  character  for  uprightness  and 
honesty,  gave  his  pleadings  great  and  deserved  weight  with 
a  jury ;  and  he  was  often  spoken  of  and  named  in  a  famil- 
iar manner,  by  the  country  people,  as  "honest  Paul,"  a 
phrase  which  gave  more  weight  and  popularity  to  his  opin- 
ions, than  any  high  sounding  title. 

On  his  farm,  a  little  below  the  mouth  of  the  Muskingum, 
he  erected  a  neat  dwelling-house,  and  planted  an  extensive 
orchard  of  the  choicest  fruits,  of  which  he  was  an  intelligent 
and  successful  cultivator.  The  garden  was  arranged  with 
neatness  and  taste,  and  ornamented  with  shrubbery,  flowers, 
&c,  showing  a  relish  for  the  beautiful  as  well  as  the  useful. 

He  was  one  of  the  first  in  Ohio  who  paid  attention  to  the 
raising  of  merino  sheep.  His  flocks  embraced  several 
hundreds  of  these  valuable  animals,  propagated  from  a  few 
individuals,  bought  at  enormous  prices,  a  single  buck  com- 
manding from  six  to  eight  hundred  dollars,  and  a  ewe  from 
two  to  three  hundred,  and  sometimes  much  more.  He  en- 
gaged in  the  sheep  culture  as  early  as  1808,  and  during  the 
yeaning  season,  passed  many  weary  and  sleepless  nights 
during  the  cold  winter  weather,  in  watching  and  protecting 
the  young  lambs  from  the  effects  of  frost,  so  fatal  to  them 


PAUL    FEARING.  301 

if  long  exposed  to  its  chilling  influence.  By  his  knowl- 
edge of  their  maladies,  and  discretion  in  feeding  and 
studying  their  habits,  he  became  one  of  the  most  success- 
ful growers  of  merinos,  an  animal  difficult  to  rear,  and  re- 
quiring a  different  management  from  that  applied  to  the 
common  sheep  of  the  country.  His  practical  knowledge, 
acquired  by  actual  experiment,  was  freely  imparted  to 
others,  and  was  of  great  use  to  the  farmers  of  this  county. 
The  growth  of  this  valuable  animal  was  for  many  years 
extensively  conducted  in  this  part  of  the  state,  and  was  profit- 
able so  long  as  the  government,  by  protecting  duties,  en- 
couraged the  woolen  factories  to  work  up  the  wool  of  the 
country,  thereby  not  only  making  the  nation  independent, 
but  the  people  rich. 

In  1810,  he  was  appointed  an  associate  judge  of  the  Court 
of  Common  Pleas.  The  commission  is  signed  by  Samuel 
Huntington,  then  governor  of  Ohio.  In  this  office  he  served 
seven  years,  with  much  credit  as  a  sound  jurist  and  impartial 
judge.  At  the  expiration  of  that  period,  the  leaders  in  po- 
litical affairs  placed  the  office  in  other  hands,  more  congenial 
to  their  views.  In  1814,  he  received  the  appointment  of 
master  commissioner  in  chancery. 

From  the  first  entering  of  the  lands  of  the  Ohio  Company 
for  taxation  by  the  state,  he  acted  very  extensively  as  an 
agent  for  the  shareholders  in  the  eastern  states,  paying 
their  taxes,  examining  and  preparing  their  lands  for  sale. 
In  this  way,  a  large  portion  of  his  time,  not  devoted  to  the 
care  of  his  farm,  was  occupied. 

In  his  disposition,  Mr.  Fearing  was  remarkably  cheerful 
and  pleasant,  much  attached  to  children,  and  never  happier 
than  when  in  their  company.  He  had  great  sympathy  for 
the  poor  and  the  oppressed,  and  was  ever  ready  to  stretch 
forth  his  hand,  and  open  his  purse  for  their  relief. 

He  died  the  21st  of  August,  1822,  after  a  few  days  illness, 


302  JOSEPH    GILMAN. 

a  victim  to  the  fatal  epidemic  fever,  which  ravaged  the 
country  for  two  or  three  years,  in  the  sixtieth  year  of  his 
life.  His  wife  died  the  same  day,  a  few  hours  after,  in  the 
forty  sixth  year  of  her  age. 


HON.    JOSEPH    GILMAN    AND    MRS. 
REBECCA    GILMAN. 

Joseph  Gilman  was  born  in  Exeter,  New  Hampshire,  A. 
D.,  1736,  and  was  the  third  generation  of  the  descend- 
ants of  John  Gilman,  who  emigrated  from  Norfolk,  Eng- 
land, in  1G37.  He  married  Rebecca  Ives,  granddaughter  of 
the  Hon.  Robert  Hale,  of  Beverly,  Massachusetts,  one  of 
the  provincial  council,  and  an  intimate  friend  of  Gov 
Hutchinson. 

When  the  struggle  for  liberty  commenced,  he  took  an 
early  and  decided  part  on  the  side  of  the  colonists.  His 
high  standing  for  integrity,  and  honorable,  upright  character, 
soon  attracted  the  notice  and  favor  of  the  Whigs,  and  he 
was  appointed  chairman  of  the  Committee  of  Safety  for 
New  Hampshire,  a  post  which  none  but  the  most  able  and 
influential  men  were  selected  to  fill.  This  station  brought 
him  into  immediate  intercourse  with  a  number  of  the  lead- 
ing men  in  the  adjacent  states,  especially  Massachusetts. 
In  the  early  periods  of  the  Revolution,  these  committees  of 
safety  were  the  most  important  public  bodies  in  the  courr- 
try,  transacting  much  of  the  business  afterward  done  by 
the  legislatures,  in  collecting  and  purchasing  arms,  ammuni- 
tions, and  clothing  for  the  state  troops.      Mr.  Gilman,  as 


JOSEPH    GILMAN.  303 

chairman  of  this  committee,  made  large  advances  from  his 
own  private  purse,  at  a  very  pressing  period,  for  the  pur- 
chase of  blankets  for  the  New  Hampshire  line,  which  was 
repaid  in  continental  paper,  and  became  a  dead  loss,  en- 
tirely ruining  his  family  estate.  In  proof  of  the  intense 
feeling  and  ardor  infused  into  the  minds  of  the  leading  men 
of  the  period,  and  the  deep  interest  they  took  in  the  welfare 
of  the  country,  it  is  stated  that  at  the  period  of  the  disas- 
trous events  which  followed  the  retreat  of  the  American 
army  from  New  Jersey,  when  it  seemed  as  if  the  cause  of 
liberty  was  hopeless,  Samuel  Adams  had  occasion  to  visit 
Mr.  Gilman  at  Exeter,  for  consultation  on  the  best  course  to 
pursue,  and  to  devise  ways  and  means  to  raise  supplies  for 
the  starving  and  naked  soldiers.  It  so  happened  that  Mr. 
Gilman  was  abroad,  and  Mr.  Adams  was  received  by  his 
wife.  After  a  few  minutes  conversation,  observing  the  ab- 
stracted manner  and  downcast  looks  of  her  guest,  she  ceased 
any  further  attempt  to  engage  his  attention,  and  applied 
herself  quietly  to  her  needle,  an  occupation  then  followed 
by  females  of  the  first  families.  Mr.  Adams  continued  to 
walk  rapidly  up  and  down  the  room,  too  uneasy  to  sit  qui- 
etly in  a  chair.  After  a  few  moments  her  attention  was 
called  to  her  visitor,  by  a  deep  sigh,  amounting  nearer  to  a 
groan.  Casting  her  eyes  on  hi&  face,  the  tears  were  rolling 
down  his  cheeks,  and  wringing  his  hands  in  agony,  he  ut- 
tered with  a  broken  voice  the  deep  thoughts  within  him, 
"  O,  my  God,  must  we  give  it  up!"  How  intense  must  have 
been  the  feeling  of  that  great  mind,  when  the  physical  man 
thus  bowed  beneath  its  sway.  Happily  for  us,  the  friends 
of  freedom  were  not  long  permitted  to  live  in  darkness,  but 
the  brilliant  events  which  soon  followed  at  Princeton  and 
Trenton,  revived  their  desponding  spirits,  and  covered 
Washington  and  his  few  brave  followers  with  a  mantle  of 
glory. 


304  JOSEPH    GIL  MAN. 

When  the  Ohio  Company  was  formed,  Mr.  Gilman  be- 
came an  associate,  and  moved  his  family,  consisting  of  a 
wife  and  one  son,  B.  Ives  Gilman,  to  Marietta,  in  1789. 
The  country  was  then  a  wilderness,  and  those  who  entered 
it  had  to  partake  of  the  hardships,  privations,  and  dangers 
which  attend  the  forming  of  a  new  settlement  several  hun- 
dred miles  beyond  the  borders  of  civilization.  The  journey 
was  performed  in  safety,  and  the  family  settled  down  in  their 
new  home,  established  on  the  lower  Point,  near  Fort  Har- 
mer,  determined  to  be  contented,  and  do  their  best  for  the 
good  of  the  country. 

In  1790  Mr.  Gilman  was  commissioned  judge  of  probate, 
in  place  of  Gen.  Putnam,  resigned.  He  also  received  com- 
missions from  Gov.  St.  Clair,  as  judge  of  the  Court  of  Quar- 
ter Sessions,  and  also  of  the  Court  of  Common  Pleas,  which 
posts  he  continued  to  fill  during  the  territorial  period.  In 
1796  he  was  appointed  by  Congress  one  of  the  United 
States  judges  for  the  Northwest  Territory,  and  attended  the 
sittings  of  this  court  at  Post  Vincent,  Detroit,  Cincinnati, 
and  Marietta.  The  journeys  to  these  remote  points  were 
made  through  the  wilderness  on  horseback,  attended  with 
pack-horses  to  carry  the  baggage,  in  company  with  the 
other  judges  and  lawyers,  so  that  the  ride  through  the  woods, 
although  tiresome  and  tedious,  was  not  without  many  things 
to  make  it  interesting.  The  trip  to  and  from  Cincinnati 
was  usually  made  in  a  canoe  or  large  pirogue,  and  occu- 
pied eight  or  ten  days.  They  slept  at  night  under  a  hut  on 
the  shore,  and  cooked  their  food  in  the  woods,  there  being 
few  cabins  at  convenient  points,  for  a  number  of  years  after 
the  war. 

He  was  a  man  whom  every  body  respected  and  esteemed, 
for  his  candor,  honesty,  good  sense,  and  social  qualities.  As 
a  jurist  his  reputation  stood  deservedly  high.  He  was  a 
careful   student  of  the   laws  of  nature,  as  well  as  those  of 


REBECCA    GILMA.N.  .  305 

his  country,  and  kept  a  meteorological  journal,  which  for  that 
day  was  rather  rare.  He  died  in  1806,  aged  seventy  years. 
Mrs.  Gilman  was  Rebecca  Ives,  the  daughter  of  Benjamin 
Ives  and  Elizabeth  Hale.  Her  education  was  far  superior 
to  that  of  most  females  of  her  time,  being  chiefly  acquired 
under  the  direction  of  her  grandfather,  the  Hon.  Robert 
Hale.  By  him  her  literary  taste  was  highly  cultivated,  and 
a  habit  acquired  for  books  and  useful  reading,  that  attended 
her  late  in  life.  She  was  familiar  with  the  best  British  clas- 
sics of  the  days  of  Queens  Ann  and  Elizabeth;  could  read 
French  authors  with  facility  and  ease,  and  her  acuteness 
was  such  in  polite  literature,  that  when  any  disputed  point 
arose  amongst  the  learned  visitors  and  circles  at  her  fire- 
side, she  was  often  appealed  to  as  umpire,  and  her  decisions 
were  usually  decisive  of  the  question,  and  seldom  appealed 
from.  This  was  often  done  by  men  of  classical  education, 
few  of  whom,  in  matters  of  history,  pure  English  literature, 
poetry,  or  belles-lettres,  excelled  her  in  general  knowledge, 
or  critical  acumen.  Her  early  and  youthful  associates  were 
generally  men  of  superior  minds  and  talents;  amongst 
whom  a  favorite  one  was  Timothy  Pickering,  a  resident  of 
an  adjacent  town,  and  a  frequent  visitor  in  the  family. 
These  acquirements  gave  a  tone  and  cast  to  her  conversa- 
tion, very  fascinating  and  engaging  to  such  cultivated  minds 
as  came  within  the  sphere  of  her  imiuence,  and  her  society 
was  much  sought,  and  highly  valued  by  all  her  acquaint- 
ances. In  person  she  was  tall  and  commanding,  with  the 
most  graceful  and  dignified  manners :  her  countenance 
open,  prepossessing,  and  intelligent.  Children  were  much 
attached  to  her,  as  she  was  fond  of  giving  them  useful  in- 
struction and  advice,  in  such  a  pleasant  and  agreeable  man- 
ner, as  to  win  their  attention,  and  impress  it  deeply  on  the! 
minds.  One  of  the  early  citizens  of  Marietta,  whose  pa- 
rents lived  the  next  door  to  her  in  1796,  says,  that  he 
20 


30G  ■  B.   I.   GILMAN. 

received,  when  a  boy,  more  valuable  advice  from  her,  than  he 
ever  did  from  his  own  mother,  and  she  was  a  woman  of  no 
ordinary  capacity.  In  her  domestic  concerns  she  was  a  pat- 
tern to  all  good  housewives,  for  industry,  frugality,  order, 
and  promptness  of  execution;  practices  rather  rare  in  lit- 
erary females.  Her  dress  wa.s  always  neat,  but  plain;  indi- 
cating good  taste,  and  purity  of  principle.  After  the  death 
of  her  husband,  she  lived  in  her  own  house  at  Marietta,  sur- 
rounded by  her  grandchildren,  until  1812,  when  she  moved 
with  her  son  to  Philadelphia,  and  died  in  the  year  1820,  full 
of  peace,  and  joyful  expectation  of  a  blessed  immortality. 


BENJAMIN    IVES    GILMAN    AND 
MRS.    HANNAH    GILMAN. 

Mr.  Gilman  was  born  in  Exeter,  New  Hampshire,  in  the 
year  1765.  His  early  education  was  strictly  attended  to, 
and  he  had  the  advantages  of  the  academy  established  in 
that  place  by  Mr.  Phillips.  As  his  father  was  engaged  in 
mercantile  pursuits,  he  was  brought  up  to  the  same  employ- 
ment. When  a  small  boy,  he  received  the  instruction  and 
advice  of  a  very  intelligent  and  highly  educated  mother, 
who,  having  but  one  son  on  whom  to  bestow  her  care,  his 
moral  and  intellectual  culture  were  highly  finished,  and  his 
whole  after  life  showed  the  training  of  this  early  period. 
Richly  was  she  rewarded  for  her  labor  of  love,  for  no  son 
ever  more  venerated  and  respected  a  mother  than  did  Mr. 
Gilman.  That  "the  boy  is  the  father  of  the  man,"  is  an  old, 
but  very  true  axiom;  and  nothing  is  more  certain  than  that 
the  impressions,  whether  for  good  or  evil,  made  on  the  mind 


B.    I.    GILMAN.  307 

of  youth,  retain  their  hold  during  the  remainder  of  life. 
Blessed  is  that  son  who  has  an  educated,  moral,  and  relig- 
ious mother:  his  happiness  for  time  and  eternity  depends 
very  much  on  the  instruction  received  while  he  is  more  im- 
mediately under  her  care. 

In  1789  he  moved  with  his  parents  to  Marietta.  In  1790 
he  returned  to  New  England,  and  married  Hannah  Robbins, 
the  second  daughter  of  the  Rev.  Chandler  Robbins,  D.  D., 
pastor  of  the  first  church  in  Plymouth,  Mass.,  the  cere- 
mony being  performed  by  her  father.  Soon  after,  in  com- 
pany with  his  young  bride,  they  returned  across  the  moun- 
tains on  horseback.  At  that  early  period,  it  was  a  se- 
rious and  laborious  journey,  occupying  from  twenty-five  to 
thirty  days.  The  roads  were  very  poor  over  the  Alleghe- 
nies,  and  the  accommodations  for  travelers  scanty  and 
coarse.  From  Red  Stone,  or  Pittsburg,  the  passage  was 
usually  by  water,  in  a  flat,  or  Kentucky  boat. 

About  the  year  1792  he  commenced  the  sale  of  merchan- 
dise, in  a  store  at  Fort  Harmer.  From  small  beginnings 
his  business  was  gradually  enlarged  to  the  most  extensive 
in  Marietta. 

During  the  war  Mr.  Gilman  several  times  narrowly  escaped 
the  rifle  and  tomahawk  of  the  Indians.  About  eighty  rods 
from  the  fort,  he  had  commenced  a  new  clearing  for  agricul- 
tural purposes.  One  day,  in  the  spring  of  the  year  1794,  he 
was  out  in  this  lot  at  work  with  a  hired  man  named  Robert 
Warth.  Robert  had  just  cut  off  a  log  for  rail  timber,  and  was 
still  standing  on  it,  with  the  axe  resting  at  his  feet,  when  he 
spoke  to  Mr.  Gilman,  who  was  thirty  or  forty  yards  distant, 
but  more  out  of  sight,  inquiring  further  about  the  work. 
Before  he  had  time  to  answer,  the  sharp  crack  of  a  rifle 
caused  him  to  turn  quickly  in  the  direction  of  the  shot,  when 
he  saw  poor  Robert  falling  dead  from  the  log,  and  two  In- 
dians in  the  act  of  jumping  over  a  brush  fence,  close  by, 


308  B.    I.    G1LMAN. 

where  they  had  lain  concealed.  Being  unarmed,  he  in- 
stantly ran  for  the  fort,  with  one  of  the  Indians  in  close 
chase,  while  the  other  was  occupied  in  taking  the  scalp  of 
Robert.  An  intervening  fence  gave  his  pursuer  some  hope 
of  overtaking  him,  but  he  cleared  it  at  a  single  leap.  The 
Indian  now  stopped  and  fired  at  his  flying  foe,  but  happily 
missed  his  mark.  The  field  was  so  near  the  block-house 
where  he  resided,  that  his  wife  and  mother  both  heard  the 
shots  and  the  yell  of  the  savages.  Knowing  the  exposure 
of  Mr.  Gilman,  they  hastened  to  the  window  of  the  house 
to  ascertain  his  situation,  and  as  he  came  running  up, 
eagerly  inquired  who  was  killed.  The  young  wife  of  the 
backwoodsman  was  standing  by  the  side  of  Mrs.  Gilman, 
as  he  answered,  "  Robert,"  and  thus  suddenly  heard  the  fall 
of  her  husband.  The  Indians  were  instantly  pursued  and 
fired  at  by  the  rangers,  as  they  ascended  the  side  of  the  hill 
which  overlooks  the  alluvions  on  which  the  fort  stood,  but 
they  escaped,  although  it  was  thought  one  of  them  was 
wounded. 

In  traversing  the  woods  for  strayed  cattle,  and  in  looking 
at  the  quality  and  boundaries  of  adjacent  lands  which  he 
wished  to  purchase,  he  had  many  narrow  escapes,  but  would 
never  send  a  man  where  he  was  afraid  to  venture  himself.  In 
walking  and  running,  few  men  could  excel  him ;  and  unless 
fired  at  from  a  hidden  enemy,  he  did  not  fear  a  surprise, -as 
he  could  escape  by  his  own  activity. 

After  the  close  of  the  war  he  dealt  largely  in  peltries, 
especially  bear  skins,  having  small  trading  stations  on  the 
Big  Sandy  and  Guyandot  rivers,  where  this  animal  abounded, 
and  the  chief  employment  of  the  inhabitants  was  hunting 
them  for  their  skins,  and  the  digging  of  ginseng,  a  plant 
which  grew  in  wonderful  abundance  and  great  luxuriance 
on  the  rich  hill-sides  of  this  broken  country.  Both  of  these 
articles,   from    1798    to   1808,   were   in   great   demand   for 


B.    I.    GILMAN.  309 

exportation,  and  many  large  fortunes  realized  by  persons 
who  dealt  in  them. 

Mr.  Gilman  was  appointed  clerk  of  the  Court  of  Common 
Pleas  of  Washington  county  in  the  year  1796,  and  continued 
in  office  until  the  territory  became  a  state.  In  1802,  he  was 
one  of  the  delegates  at  the  convention  for  forming  a  consti- 
tution, and  was  a  very  active  and  useful  man  in  completing 
that  instrument. 

In  1801,  he  commenced  the  business  of  ship-building,  em- 
ploying Capt.  Devol  for  the  master-builder,  and  subsequently 
James  Whitney.  This  was  continued  from  that  year  to  1808, 
when  the  embargo  put  a  stop  to  all  mercantile  operations, 
and  ruined  a  number  of  the  merchants  of  Marietta,  who 
had  embarked  in  this  business.  The  ships  when  built  were 
exchanged  for  merchandise  in  the  Atlantic  cities,  and  were 
the  most  profitable  returns  they  could  make;  and,  although 
the  country  was  thinly  peopled,  yet  the  vessels  were  always 
loaded  with  flour,  pork,  and  other  produce,  in  their  down- 
ward voyage,  thus  yielding  a  double  profit  on  the  investment. 
But  the  wisdom  of  Mr.  Jefferson  put  a  stop  to  all  the  en- 
terprising efforts  of  these  western  men,  and  overwhelmed 
several  of  them  with  ruin,  especially  such  as  had  ships  on 
hand,  unsold  in  1808.  One  man  who  had  a  ship  in  New 
Orleans  at  the  time  of  the  embargo,  sunk  over  ten  thousand 
dollars  on  her  and  the  cargo.  No  town  in  the  United  States 
suffered  so  much  as  this,  according  to  its  capital,  by  this  un- 
wise measure.  Mr.  Gilman  escaped  any  serious  loss,  but 
all  his  plans  were  deranged,  and  the  place  where  from  four 
to  six  vessels  were  built  in  a  year,  giving  employment  to  a 
large  number  of  men,  and  increasing  rapidly  in  population, 
was  entirely  paralyzed.  Three  extensive  rope-walks,  work- 
ing up  large  quantities  of  hemp  raised  in  the  country,  and 
furnishing  rigging  for  the  ships,  were  put  out  of  employ,  and 
in  a  few  years  fell  into  ruins.     The  business  of  the  town  did 


310  HANNAH    GILMAN. 

not  revive  for  many  years;  and  in  1813,  Mr.  Gilman  moved 
his  family  to  Philadelphia  and  entered  into  merchandise,  as 
a  wholesale  dealer.  For  this  business  his  clear,  calculating 
mind,  enlarged  views  and  industrious  habits,  eminently  fitted 
him,  and  for  a  number  of  years  it  was  prosecuted  with  great 
success.  His  business  operations  often  called  him  to  visit 
the  valley  of  Ohio,  for  which  he  always  felt  a  warm  regard; 
two  of  his  sons  having  settled  at  Alton,  111.,  and  when  on  a 
visit  to  that  place  in  1833,  he  was  attacked  with  a  fever,  and 
died  at  the  age  of  sixty-eight  years. 

In  person,  Mr.  Gilman  was  rather  above  the  medium  size, 
very  erect,  graceful  and  quick  in  his  motions,  with  the  man- 
ners and  address  of  the  most  polished  gentleman;  eyes 
black,  brilliant  and  expressive;  nose  slightly  aquiline;  fore- 
head broad  and  high ;  face  full  and  without  a  fault.  The 
impression  made  on  a  stranger,  who  saw  him  for  the  first 
time,  would  be,  that  he  was  in  the  presence  of  a  man  of 
more  than  ordinary  capacity  and  intellect.  His  powers  of 
conversation  were  great  and  varied,  and  no  one  left  his 
company  without  adding  something  to  his  stock  of  useful 
information. 

Mrs.  Hannah  Gilman  was  the  second  daughter  of  the  Rev. 
Chandler  Robbins,  D.  D.,  for  many  years  the  pastor  of  the 
first  church  in  Plymouth,  Mass.  She  was  brought  up  with 
great  care  and  tenderness  by  her  venerable  father,  and  re- 
ceived as  good  an  education  as  was  customary  to  bestow  on 
females  of  the  first  families  in  that  day.  She  was  a  girl 
of  great  sprightliness  and  vivacity;  always  cheerful,  and 
abounding  in  kindness  to  her  associates,  as  well  as  to  her 
own  family.  A  joyful,  kind  spirit  animated  her  frame 
through  the  whole  course  of  her  life. 

In  February,  1790.  she  was  married  to  B.  1.  Gilman,  a 
man  every  way  worthy  the  hand  and  the  heart  of  so  excel- 
lent  a  woman.      Nothing  marred  the  joy   of  this  festive 


HANNAH    GILM  AN.  311 

occasion,  but  the  circumstance  of  her  being  removed  to  so 
great  a  distance  from  her  parents ;  the  location  of  her  future 
home  being  on  the  banks  of  the  Ohio,  far  toward  the  setting 
sun.  The  New  Englanders  at  this  time  were  an  untraveled 
people;  they  had  not  then  learnt  to  roam  into  all  parts  of 
the  earth,  but  a  journey  of  a  hundred  miles  was  a  great 
event  in  the  life  of  that  primitive  people,  and  seldom  under- 
taken by  the  pious,  without  the  public  prayers  of  the  church 
for  its  success.  How  formidable  then  must  have  seemed 
to  the  old  people,  this  journey  of  eight  hundred  miles;  so 
far,  that  the  expectation  of  seeing  her  again  in  this  world, 
was  almost  hopeless,  and  the  final  adieu  was  affecting  and 
solemn. 

The  ancestors  of  the  Robbins  family  were  amongst  the 
first  settlers  of  Massachusetts ;  their  blood  unmixed,  and 
strictly  Puritan. 

On  their  arrival  at  Marietta,  she  found  many  intelligent 
and  kind  friends,  to  greet  her  with  a  warm  and  hearty  wel- 
come, while  the  society  of  her  husband's  mother,  in  whose 
family  they  lived,  was  itself  sufficient  to  make  her  home 
very  pleasant,  and  the  loneliness  of  the  wilderness  forgot- 
ten. From  her  she  received  all  that  love  and  tenderness 
she  could  have  expected  from  her  own  mother,  and  which 
the  affection  of  the  female  heart  only  knows  how  to  bestow 
on  a  beloved  daughter.  Before  many  years,  the  cares  of  a 
growing  family  in  some  measure  divided  her  regards  be- 
tween her  own  household  and  that  of  her  dear  father  and 
mother  at  Plymouth,  so  that  the  separation  was  more  easily 
borne  than  at  first.  A  frequent  intercourse  by  letters  also 
solaced  her  uneasy  mind,  so  that  she  had  often  occasion  to 
bless  the  happy  inventor  of  this  divine  mode  of  an  inter- 
change of  thoughts,  so  wonderful  in  itself,  and  which  struck 
with  admiration,  the  savage  and  untaught  mind  of  Pow- 
hattan,  when  he  first  saw  the   effects  of  these  mysterious 


312  HANNAH    GILMAN. 

marks  in  a  letter,  sent  by  Capt.  Smith  to  Jamestown,  while 
a  prisoner  in  his  dominions. 

Many  of  her  early  letters  to  her  brother,  the  Rev.  Samuel 
Prince  Robbins,  while  he  was  a  boy,  and  when  in  college, 
also  after  his  settlement  as  a  pastor  over  the  first  Congrega- 
tional church  in  Marietta,  have  been  preserved  by  his  family. 
Some  extracts  from  these  will  be  given,  to  show  her  talents 
as  a  writer,  and  the  amiable  and  pious  feelings  which  per- 
vaded her  heart,  and  made  her  worthy  of  the  parentage  of 
so  excellent  and  noble  a  stock.  The  first  is  written  in  an 
easy,  playful  style,  suitable  to  the  subject,  when  her  first 
child  was  about  six  months  old,  to  her  brother,  then  aged 
ten  or  twelve  years,  and  dated  Marietta,  16th  of  September, 
1791.  It  was  in  answer  to  one  he  had  sent  to  his  sister, 
with  a  specimen  of  his  drawing: 

"  I  received  the  picture  you  sent  me,  and  was  much  aston- 
ished to  see  how  much  you  had  improved  in  drawing.  Did 
you  do  it  all  yourself?  I  can  hardly  believe  it.  I  suppose 
by  the  time  I  visit  Plymouth  with  your  little  niece,  you  will 
be  able  to  take  her  picture.  If  so,  and  it  is  a  likeness,  it  will 
be  the  prettiest  picture  you  ever  saw." 

To  her  parents  she  wrote  regularly  once  a  month,  when 
there  was  an  opportunity  of  sending  a  letter,  which,  until 
1794,  was  only  by  private  conveyance.  In  1798  her  brother 
Samuel  graduated  at  Cambridge  University.  Her  younger 
brother,  Peter  Gilman  Robbins,  was  then  a  freshman. 

In  writing  to  Samuel,  she  speaks  of  the  rapid  passage  of 
time  in  reference  to  Peter,  who,  she  did  not  think,  could  be 
old  enough  to  enter  college,  as  she  had  been  absent  only 
seven  years,  and  he  was  then  a  very  small  boy.  "  How  fast 
time  flies.  The  further  you  advance  in  life,  the  faster  time 
will  appear  to  fly.  How  important  it  is,  that  we  improve  it 
to  the  best  purpose."  In  the  same  letter  she  sends  a  mes- 
sage to  Peter,  who  was  rather  disposed  to  be  a  little  wild; 


HANNAH     GILMAN.  313 

u  charging  him  to  refrain  from  going  to  the  theater,  as  it 
would  be  injurious  to  his  morals."  At  that  period  it  was  a 
fashionable  amusement,  and  practiced  by  nearly  all  classes 
of  society.  Her  nice  sense  of  propriety  saw  its  hidden  evils, 
and  her  voice  was  raised  against  it. 

After  her  brother  had  completed  his  college  course,  he 
studied  divinity,  under  the  care  of  the  Rev.  M.  Hyde,  of 
Stockbridge,  in  Connecticut.  In  the  spring  of  1805,  at  the 
urgent  request  of  Mrs.  Gilman.  he  visited  Marietta,  with  an 
ulterior  expectation  that  he  might  be  settled  in  the  ministry 
there,  over  the  first  Congregational  church  in  this  place. 
The  Rev.  Daniel  Story,  who  had  been  their  pastor  for  a 
number  of  years,  from  feebleness,  and  other  infirmities,  had 
resigned  his  charge,  and  they  were  now  without  a  teacher. 
When  he  arrived,  the  society  was  so  small,  and  the  prospect 
of  an  adequate  support  so  doubtful,  that  after  preaching  a 
few  times  he  returned  to  Norfolk,  Conn.,  where  he  was  itin- 
erating. At  that  day  there  was  no  home  missionary  society, 
to  aid  feeble  and  newly  formed  churches,  but  they  had  to 
struggle  into  existence  in  the  best  manner  they  could. 

In  August,  1S05,  she  wrote  to  him  a  very  feeling  letter, 
urging  it  upon  him  as  a  duty  to  return.  "For  my  own  part, 
I  feel  as  if  I  could  not  receive  a  negative  answer  from  you. 
It  was  so  long  since  I  had  been  favored  with  such  preaching 
as  I  once  lived  under,  that  when  you  were  here  I  got  roused 
up  in  some  manner;  but  now  we  are  all  asleep,  and  myself 
among  the  rest.  However,  I  desire  not  to  trust  too  much  in 
an  arm  of  flesh :  a  sovereign  God,  who  orders  all  events,  will 
provide."  After  mentioning  the  names  of  several  of  his 
acquaintances  who  had  called  to  inquire  after  him,  amongst 
whom  were  Gen.  Putnam  and  Dr.  True,  she  says,  "I  hope, 
my  dear  brother,  you  will  write  as  often  as  possible,  and 
0  that  you  may  be  directed  to  the  path  of  duty."     This 


314  HANNAH    GILMAN. 

prayer  was  soon  answered,  for  the  trustees  of  the  society 
directly  after  sent  him  a  call  to  be  their  pastor,  to  which  he 
returned  a  consenting  answer,  and  the  following  January  he 
was  ordained  over  the  first  Congregational  church  and  so- 
ciety of  Marietta.  Under  his  faithful  and  apostolic  min- 
istry it  was  soon  enlarged,  embracing  many  from  the 
adjacent  towns  of  Belpre  and  Adams,  where  he  preached 
about  one-third  of  the  time.  In  1807,  chiefly  through  the 
efforts  of  Gen.  Rufus  Putnam,  aided  by  the  liberality  of 
several  other  citizens,  especially  Mr.  Gilman,  a  large  and 
handsome  church  was  erected,  at  a  cost  of  about  seven 
thousand  dollars:  avast  effort  for  so  small  a  society ;  and 
it  yet  remains  a  monument  to  their  praise.  This  was 
the  first  house  erected  specially  for  public  worship;  the 
Muskingum  academy  having  been  occupied  for  this  purpose 
since  the  year  1799.  No  man  was  ever  more  diligent  and 
faithful  in  his  Master's  service  than  Mr.  Robbins,  and  his 
sister  now  felt  an  addition  to  her  happiness  of  a  spiritual 
nature,  not  before  experienced.  Earthly  comforts  had  been 
showered  upon  her  in  rich  abundance.  A  most  excellent 
husband,  children  "like  olive  plants  sprung  up  around  her 
table,"  with  all  the  wealth  she  could  desire,  made  her  rich 
in  this  world's  goods  ;  but  the  longings  of  the  immortal 
spirit  could  only  be  satisfied  with  the  bread  of  everlasting 
life.  During  a  revival  in  1811,  she  united  herself  with  the 
church,  under  her  brother's  care,  and  while  she  remained  in 
Marietta,  was  one  of  its  chief  ornaments  and  supports.  In 
1890,  her  soul  was  tried  with  one  of  the  sorest  afflictions 
that  can  befall  poor  humanity,  in  the  loss  of  her  first-born 
child,  the  wife  of  Mr.  D.  Woodbridge.  This  bereavement 
was  sustained  with  Christian  resignation,  and  by  it  her  spir- 
itual graces  were  greatly  quickened  and  refined.  The  sym- 
pathy and  prayers  of  her  dear  brother  were  now  doubly 


HANNAH    OILMAN.  315 

consoling,  and  from  him  she  learned  that  uncomplaining 
submission  to  the  divine  will,  so  hard  to  be  practiced  by  the 
natural  heart. 

In  1813,  Mr.  Gilman  moved  his  family  to  Philadelphia, 
where  he  could  enlarge  the  sphere  of  his  mercantile  opera- 
tions, more  in  accordance  with  his  capacious  mind,  so  highly 
fitted  for  extensive  and  wide-spread  operations.  Neverthe- 
less, he  quitted  the  scenes  of  his  early  manhood  with  regret; 
the  spot  where  his  life  had  been  often  endangered,  and  the 
place  where  the  foundations  of  his  early  wealth  were  laid. 
It  was  still  more  trying  to  his  wife,  who  now  bid  adieu  to 
the  home  where  she  had  lived  twenty-three  years,  amidst 
many  dear  and  excellent  female  friends  ;  but,  above  all,  to 
that  brother  beloved,  whom  she  cherished  with  an  ardor  only 
known  to  those  who,  to  a  naturally  warm  temperament,  feel 
the  impulses  of  the  Christian's  love,  in  addition  to  that  of 
the  natural  heart.  This  is  the  love  which  abideth  and  en- 
dureth  when  life  itself  vanishes  away.  The  first  letter  after 
her  arrival,  is  dated  October  20th,  1813,  and  addressed  to 
Mr.  Robbins  and  his  wife,  who  was  a  granddaughter  of  Gen. 
Putnam,  and  explains  the  references  to  persons  in  Marietta. 

"We  arrived  here  the  25th  of  September,  all  well.  The 
dear  children  were  never  so  hearty.  O,  what  shall  I  render 
to  the  Lord  for  all  his  goodness  ?  The  city  was  so  healthy, 
we  thought  it  best  to  come  immediately  in.  But  O,  what 
noise  —  what  confusion.  That  evening  they  had  received 
the  intelligence  of  the  victory  gained  on  the  lakes  :  the  whole 
city  was  illuminated,  and  every  mark  of  joy  and  mirth. 
I  was  ready  to  say, '  God  is  not  in  this  place.'  But  surely 
he  is,  for  the  heaven,  and  heaven  of  heavens,  cannot  con- 
tain him;  and  I  think  I  can  say  from  sweet  experience,  since 
my  arrival,  '  I  have  found  Him  whom  my  soul  loveth,'  and 
I  have  seen  his  stately  goings  in  the  sanctuary."  After  de- 
scribing the  public  institutions  of  the  the  city,  Bible  society, 


316  HANNAH    GILMAN. 

Sunday  school  for  the  poor  children,  &c,  she  says,  "So  you 
see  there  must  be  some  good  people  here,  but  I  have  not 
been  introduced  to  many  as  yet.  I  have  not  found  your 
good  grandmother,  your  aunt  Betsy,  your  mother,  and  many 
others  with  whom  I  used  to  hold  sweet  converse.  I  feel  at 
times  exceedingly  at  a  loss  what  to  do  about  joining  the 
church;  I  am  much  attached  to  our  customs  at  Marietta, 
and  feel  unwilling  to  be  dismissed  from  them.  But  there  is 
no  Congregational  church  here,  and  I  feel  alone :  what 
shall  I  do?"  It  would  seem  that  her  brother  advised  her  to 
unite  with  Mr.  Skinner's  church,  which  she  did,  and  sat  for 
many  years  under  his  teaching  with  great  profit  to  her  soul. 

In  November  following  she  writes,  "  I  have  received  yours 
of  October  20th,  which  was  a  cordial  to  me."  Speaking  of 
a  dear  Christian  uncle  who  wras  on  his  death-bed,  she  says, 
"O,  that  it  were  possible  I  could  see  him;  he  could  teach  me 
how  to  live,  and  show  me  how  to  die.  O,  that  my  last  end 
may  be  like  his.  Surely  never  were  religious  privileges  so 
great  as  those  which  I  now  enjoy." 

From  this  time  to  1820,  a  regular  correspondence  was 
kept  up  with  her  brother  Samuel.  Her  letters  are  filled 
writh  the  reflections  of  a  Christian  and  pious  heart,  and  the 
most  affectionate  expressions  for  her  brother  Samuel  and  his 
family.  In  May,  1820,  after  a  visit  from  one  of  her  Marietta 
acquaintances,  she  writes:  "Mr.  Cram  tells  me  that  you 
have  taken  a  few  scholars.  Does  it  not  interfere  with  your 
studies?  It  appears  to  me  that  clergymen  in  general,  ought 
to  devote  more  of  their  time  to  the  cause  of  Christ :  else 
how  can  they  expect  that  their  preaching  will  be  blessed  to 
the  souls  committed  to  their  charge?"  He,  good  man, 
would  have  been  very  happy  to  have  given  all  his  time  to 
the  work  of  the  gospel ;  but  the  smallness  of  his  salary,  a 
mere  pittance,  and  the  increasing  wants  of  a  growing  fam- 
ily, compelled  him  to  this  extra  labor,  for  their  support. 


HANNAH    GIL  MAN.  217 

But  his  time  was  short,  and  in  about  three  years  after  that 
period  he  received  a  summons  from  his  divine  Master,  to 
enter  into  the  joy  of  his  Lord. 

From  1820  to  1823  the  correspondence  is  continued,  and 
would  fill  a  small  volume.  They  contain  evidences  of  a 
constant  growth  in  grace,  increasing  love  for  her  family  and 
all  around  her,  and  anxiety  for  their  salvation.  During  this 
time  many  interesting  events  took  place,  such  as  the  mar- 
riage of  a  beloved  daughter,  the  arrival  of  her  sons  to  man- 
hood, and  entry  into  business,  in  wide  and  distant  parts  of 
the  country.  "We  are  all  scattered,  my  dear  brother;  but, 
O,  if  we  can  all,  through  grace  in  the  dear  Redeemer,  meet 
at  last  in  heaven,  what  a  mercy !  When  I  think  of  the  sep- 
aration between  yourself,  Isaac,  and  myself,  it  is  a  comfort 
to  me  that  we  do  meet  at  a  throne  of  grace." 

The  epidemic  fever  which  prevailed  .along  the  waters  of 
the  Ohio  in  1822,  again  visited  that  region  in  1823,  with 
fatal  severity.  By  this  visitation  Mrs.  Gilman  lost  one  of 
her  sons,  and  also  her  dearly  beloved  and  venerated  brother 
Samuel,  who  died  in  August.  Her  letter  to  his  widow  is 
full  of  ardent  piety  and  heavenly  consolation,  and  breathes 
a  depth  of  affection  for  the  departed,  and  calm  resignation 
to  the  divine  will,  which  only  the  Christian  can  feel.  Its  pe- 
rusal cannot  fail  to  soften  the  heart  of  the  most  obdurate  un- 
believer, and  soothe  the  sorrows  of  the  desponding  mourner. 
It  is  dated  at  Cincinnati,  November  3d,  1823,  where  she  then 
was,  to  attend  on  her  husband  in  a  dangerous  illness. 

"With  a  heart  filled  with  anguish,  my  dear  sister,  do  I 
now  address  you.  My  tears  had  not  ceased  to  flow  for  the 
best  of  sons,  when  I  was  called  in  Providence  to  weep 
afresh  for  the  dearest  and  best  of  brothers.  And  is  my  be- 
loved brother  Samuel  gone  forever?  Shall  I  never  more 
hear  his  pleasant  voice?  Never  more  hear  him  pray?  Never 
more  see  him  break  the  bread,  bless  the  cup,  and  give  us  all 


318  HANNAH    GILMAN. 

to  drink?  0,  no!  he  has  gone  forever  from  our  view,  and 
the  places  which  knew  him  shall  know  him  no  more,  forever. 
The  loss  to  mc  is  great;  but  to  you  my  beloved  sister,  and 
the  dear  fatherless  children,  is  irreparable.  Permit  me  then 
to  tell  you,  how  much  we  all  sympathize  with  you,  on  this 
sorrowful  occasion.  But  for  your  comfort,  remember,  that 
although  the  affliction  is  great,  your  heavenly  Father  is  able 
to  support  you,  and  has  said,  He  would  never  leave  you, 
nor  ever  forsake  you.  He  has  promised  to  be  the  widows' 
God,  and  a  father  to  the  fatherless.  Be  grateful  to  Heaven, 
that  you  were  blest  with  his  society,  comforted  with  his  ad- 
vice, and  consoled  by  his  prayers  so  many  years.  You  have 
now,  my  dear  sister,  a  double  part  to  act,  that  of  a  father 
and  mother,  to  the  children  committed  to  your  care.  For 
their  sakes,  sink  not  under  this  deep  affliction.  Spread  all 
your  wants  and  trials  before  your  heavenly  Father,  who  will 
never  lay  upon  you  more  than  you  can  bear,  and  will  work 
all  things  for  good  to  those  who  put  their  trust  in  him.  The 
Lord  will  not  forsake  hi3  dear  children,  and  though  He  cause 
grief,  yet  will  He  have  compassion  according  to  the  multi- 
tude of  his  mercies;  for  whom  the  Lord  loveth,  He  chas- 
teneth.  '  The  mountains  shall  depart,  and  the  hills  be 
removed,  but  my  kindness  shall  not  depart  from  thee,  neither 
shall  the  covenant  of  my  peace  be  removed,  saith  the  Lord 
of  hosts.'  Take  these  precious  words  of  your  God,  my  dear 
sister,  to  yourself.  They  belong  to  you.  Live  upon  them; 
and  may  our  blessed  Redeemer  comfort  you  with  the  conso- 
lations of  his  Holy  Spirit.  I  am  extremely  anxious  to  hear 
the  particulars  of  my  dear  brother's  sickness  and  death.  I 
want  to  know  every  word  that  passed  from  his  lips.  What 
were  his  views  in  the  near  approach  of  the  king  of  terrors? 
Was  his  mind  clear,  or  did  he  sink  down  under  the  weight 
of  his  disease,  without  feeling  his  situation  and  sufferings?" 
In   February   following,  she   writes,   "  I   received   your 


HANNAH    GILMAN.  319 

communication,  my  dear  sister,  and  thank  you  kindly  for  it. 
But  O,  my  dear  Patty,  it  was  not  half  so  particular  as  I 
wished.  I  wanted  you  to  write  just  as  if  you  were  talking 
with  me.  I  feel  very  anxious  about  you,  but  desire  to  com- 
mend you  to  that  merciful  Being,  who  is  husband  of  the 
widow,  and  father  of  the  orphan.  Look  daily  to  Him,  my 
dear,  for  comfort  under  this  severe  and  trying  affliction.  I 
wish  you  would  begin  a  letter  to  me  soon ;  and  if  you  re- 
collect anything  of  my  brother  which  you  have  not  told  me, 
add  it  to  the  letter  from  time  to  time,  until  you  have  filled  it. 
Kiss  the  dear  children  for  their  aunt,  and  tell  them  never  to 
forget  the  advice,  the  prayers,  and  dying  words  of  their  loving 
father.     From  your  ever  affectionate  sister,  H.  Gilman." 

Mrs.  Robbins  was  herself  sick  at  the  time  of  her  husband's 
death,  and,  therefore,  could  not  be  so  particular  in  her  ac- 
count of  his  last  moments  as  Mrs.  G.  desired. 

The  foregoing  extracts  are  sufficient  to  show  the  relig- 
ious and  social  character  of  this  excellent  woman. 

Before  her  own  death,  which  took  place  at  New  York,  in 
1836,  she  was  called  to  mourn  the  loss  of  her  dear  husband 
and  several  of  her  children ;  but  that  God  whom  she  had  so 
faithfully  served  and  trusted  in  all  her  life,  did  not  leave  her 
in  these  trying  moments,  but  was  with  her  and  supported 
her,  according  to  Ins  promise.  Like  gold  tried  in  a  furnace, 
her  Christian  graces  were  purified,  and  shone  brighter  and 
brighter  under  ever}r  new  affliction ;  and  she  has  gone  to  in- 
herit that  crown  prepared  for  all  those  who  love  and  obey 
him. 

In  person,  Mrs.  Gilman  was  of  a  medium  hight,  with  a 
handsome,  well-formed  frame;  her  manners  graceful  and 
very  attractive,  combined  with  a  dignity  that  always  com- 
manded respect;  face  full  and  round;  features  of  the 
exactest  proportions,  with  a  naturally  sweet  expression; 
hair  black;   eyes   dark,  and   full  of  intelligence.     When 


320  MAKY    LAKE. 

engaged  in  animated  conversation,  her  face  ana  eyes  were 
radiant  with  meaning,  giving  an  interest  to  her  expressions 
very  striking  and  pleasing  to  the  beholder.  Her  voice  was 
full  of  harmony,  while  her  powers  of  conversation  were  un- 
rivaled ;  having  a  volubility  and  flow  of  language  which 
few  could  equal,  whether  male  or  female.  Her  love  and 
care  for  her  husband  and  children  were  unbounded,  and  no 
sacrifice  of  personal  comfort  too  great  for  their  happiness. 
Her  memory  is  still  dear  to  many  who  knew  her  in  Mari- 
etta, and  the  history  of  her  life  and  Christian  character,  are 
the  rightful  heritage  of  that  place. 


MRS.    MARY    LAKE. 

Amongst  the  early  pioneers  of  Marietta,  were  many  excel- 
lent women.  The  times  of  the  Revolution  tried  the  temper 
and  spirit  of  females,  as  well  as  the  men,  and  they,  by  their 
example  and  encouragement  in  the  common  cause,  often 
accomplished  much  good  for  the  country.  Some  showed 
their  patriotic  spirit  by  manufacturing  garments  for  the  half- 
naked  soldiers,  while  others  nursed  the  sick  and  wounded, 
soothing  the  last  moments  of  the  dying  by  their  merciful 
ministrations.  The  names  of  deserving  females  should  be 
preserved  with  as  much  care  and  veneration  as  those  of  the 
men  who  fought  their  country's  battles.  The  scripture  bio- 
graphical sketches  of  Sarah,  Deborah,  Miriam,  Susannah, 
and  many  others,  may  be  ranked  amongst  the  most  inter- 
esting of  that  species  of  writing. 

Mrs.  Mary  Lake  was  a  native  of  Bristol,  England.     Her 


MARY    LAKE.  321 

father  was  a  silk-weaver,  and  her  maiden  name  Mary  Bird. 
She  was  born  in  1742,  and  about  the  year  1762  married 
Archibald  Lake,  a  sea-faring  man,  and  moved  to  St.  Johns, 
in  Newfoundland.  Here  he  followed  fishing  on  the  Grand 
Bank,  which,  at  that  day,  was  a  profitable  calling,  as  the 
.strict  observance  of  lent  in  Catholic  Europe  caused  a  great 
demand  for  fish.  When  that  place  came  into  the  possession 
of  the  French,  he  moved  his  family  to  New  York,  and 
worked  in  the  ship-yards. 

At  the  period  of  the  American  Revolution,  he  was  living 
in  the  city,  and  embraced  the  cause  of  liberty.  After  the 
disasters  of  Long  Island,  when  Gen.  Washington  evacuated 
the  city,  the  family  followed  the  army  into  their  canton- 
ments up  the  North  river.  The  general  hospitals  being  es- 
tablished, first  at  Fishkill,  and  then  at  New  Windsor,  she 
was  employed  as  matron,  to  superintend  the  nursing  of  the 
sick,  and  see  that  they  were  provided  with  suitable  nourish- 
ment, beds,  &c,  and  the  apartments  kept  clean.  Here, 
under  the  direction  of  the  surgeons,  she  became  familiar 
with  all  the  details  of  treating  the  diseased,  in  fevers,  small- 
pox, and  various  other  ailments,  acquiring  a  tact  and  confi- 
dence that  remained  with  her  the  rest  of  her  life,  and  was 
of  great  use  to  the  poor  and  destitute  sick  on  the  frontiers. 
The  more  poverty-stricken  was  the  sick  family,  the  greater 
was  her  obligation  to  wait  upon  them. 

Her  meek,  quiet  spirit  was  once  a  little  tried  by  a  man  in 
the  garrison  at  Marietta,  whose  wife  had  sickened  and  died, 
notwithstanding  her  unremitting  care  of  her.  The  family 
had  just  moved  into  the  country,  and  was  excessively  poor, 
needing  all  the  common  necessaries  of  life  to  be  supplied 
to  them  during  her  sickness,  by  her  neighbors.  In  examin- 
ing an  old  family  chest  for  articles  to  lay  out  the  dead  in  a 
decent  manner,  Mrs.  Lake  discovered  a  large  stocking  leg, 

filled  with  silver  dollars,  several  hundred  in  number.     On 
21       • 


322  MARY    LAKE. 

questioning  the  man  why  he  feigned  such  extreme  poverty, 
with  all  this  money  in  his  possession?  he  replied,  quite  un- 
concerned, "  O,  that  is  to  buy  land  with." 

Her  husband  was  appointed  a  deputy-commissary  to  the 
hospital,  and  ranged  the  adjacent  country,  providing  vege- 
tables, and  other  necessaries  suitable  for  the  sick.  It  is  well 
known  that  Gen.  Washington  often  visited  the  hospitals  to 
examine  the  condition  of  the  sick  and  wounded  soldiers,  en- 
courage those  who  were  in  despair  by  his  voice  and  kind  looks, 
and  inquire  into  their  wants,  which  were  always  supplied, 
so  far  as  he  had  the  power  to  direct.  In  these  benevolent 
visits,  Mrs.  Lake  more  than  once  received  his  personal  thanks 
in  their  behalf,  for  her  tender,  vigilant,  and  unremitting  care 
of  the  sick ;  an  evidence  that  she  richly  merited  praise ;  for 
Washington  flattered  no  one  with  undeserved  commendation. 

After  the  peace,  when  the  hospital  was  broken  up,  and 
army  disbanded,  the  family  returned  to  New  York,  and  her 
husband  resumed  his  former  occupation. 

She  became  pious  when  quite  young,  and  united  with  Dr. 
Rogers'  church,  one  of  the  oldest  in  the  city,  of  the  Presby- 
terian order,  and  at  the  close  of  the  war  it  contained  but 
two  churches  of  this  denomination.  Her  early  piety  and 
religious  feelings  were  no  doubt  the  secret  impulses  which 
supported  and  urged  her  on  in  this  work  of  charity  and 
mercy ;  for  her  pay  while  thus  employed  was  no  better  than 
that  of  all  the  others  engaged  in  their  country's  cause — de- 
preciated, worthless,  continental  paper.  But  love  for  her 
divine  Master,  and  charity  for  the  sick  and  distressed,  con- 
strained her,  and  she  felt  it  a  duty  to  do  all  in  her  power  for 
their  relief. 

After  the  war,  ship-building  was  a  poor  business,  and 
hearing  accidentally  from  Gen.  Putnam,  of  the  new  colony 
forming  at  Marietta,  in  the  rich  country  of  the  Ohio,  they 
became  attracted  by  the  glowing  descriptions  published,  of 


MARY    LAKE.  323 

its  advantages  and  future  prospects.  Having  little  to  expect 
where  they  were,  hope  pointed  them  to  plenteous  and  happy 
days  in  the  west.  In  1789,  he  moved  his  family,  consisting 
of  eight  children,  to  Marietta.  Three  of  the  sons,  James, 
Thomas,  and  Andrew,  were  young  men  and  able  to  assist 
in  their  support.  The  spring  after  their  arrival,  the  small- 
pox broke  out  amongst  the  inhabitants,  who  were  chiefly 
living  in  Campus  Martius,  in  such  close  quarters  that  it  was 
very  difficult  to  prevent  its  spreading  by  contagion.  The 
larger  number  of  the  settlers  had  never  gone  through  with 
the  disease,  and  were  to  be  inoculated.  This  was  done  by 
the  physician,  and  Mrs.  Lake's  skill  as  a  nurse  was  now  in 
full  requisition,  and  was  unsparingly  applied.  Her  experi- 
ence was  of  great  use,  even  to  the  surgeons,  who  were  all 
young  men,  and  had  seen  but  little  of  this  disease  except  in 
books,  in  directing  the  regimen  and  treatment  during  its 
course.  Her  services  on  this  trying  occasion,  when  several 
who  took  it  by  contagion  died,  were  often  spoken  of  by  the 
inhabitants  in  after  years,  as  well  as  at  the  time,  with  grati- 
tude. The  kind,  benevolent  heart  and  Christian  feeling  of 
Mrs.  Lake,  led  her  constantly  to  endeavor  to  do  good  to  the 
souls,  as  well  as  the  bodies,  of  her  fellow-creatures. 

Probably  one  of  the  first  Sunday  schools  in  America  was 
taught  by  her  in  1791,  and  continued  for  several  years  during 
the  Indian  war,  at  Campus  Martius,  in  Marietta.  Having 
brought  up  a  family  herself,  and  knowing  the  advantages  of 
early  religious  instruction,  she  took  compassion  on  the 
younger  children  of  the  garrison,  who  were  spending  their 
Sabbath  afternoons  in  frivolous  amusements,  and  established 
a  school  in  the  single  and  only  room  occupied  by  the  family. 
After  the  regular  religious  exercises  of  the  day  by  Mr.  Story 
were  closed,  which  consisted  of  only  one  service,  or  half  the 
day,  she  regularly  assembled  as  many  of  the  children  as  she 
could  persuade  to  attend,  and  taught  them  the  Westminster 


324  MARY    LAKE. 

catechism,  and  lessons  from  the  Bible,  for  an  hour  or  more. 
The  school  usually  contained  about  twenty.  She  was  very 
kind  and  affectionate  toward  them,  so  that  they  were  fond  of 
assembling  and  listening  to  her  instructions.  Her  explana- 
tions of  scripture  were  so  simple  and  child-like  that  the 
smallest  of  the  little  ones  could  understand  them,  and  ren- 
dered very  pleasant  by  her  mild  manner  of  speaking.  The 
accommodations  for  the  children  were  very  rude  and  simple, 
consisting  only  of  a  few  low  stools  and  benches,  such  an 
article  as  a  chair  being  a  rarity  in  the  garrison.  One  of  the 
scholars,  then  a  little  boy  of  four  years  old,  says  that  one 
day,  being  scant  of  seat,  he  was  placed,  by  the  kind  old 
lady,  on  the  top  of  a  bag  of  meal  that  stood  leaning  against 
the  side  of  the  room.  The  seed  thus  charitably  sown  in 
faith  and  hope,  was  not  scattered  in  vain,  as  several  of 
her  scholars  are  now  prominent  members  of  the  church. 
This  school  was  kept  in  the  lower  room  of  the  northeast 
block-house. 

Soon  after  the  peace  of  1795,  she  moved  with  the  family 
on  to  a  farm,  eight  miles  up  the  Muskingum. 

She  died  in  1802,  aged  sixty  years. 

Her  children  were  all  pious,  and  two  of  her  sons,  now 
very  aged  men,  are  reckoned  amongst  the  elders  of  Israel, 
adorning  that  religion  instilled  into  their  youthful  minds  by 
their  pious  mother. 


REV.   DANIEL    STORY. 

Soon  after  the  organization  of  the  Ohio  Company  at  Bos- 
ton, in  the  }rear  1787,  it  seems  that  the  enlightened  men  who 
directed  its  concerns,  began  to  think  of  making  arrangements 
for  the  support  of  the  gospel,  and  the  instruction  of  youth 
in  their  new  colony,  about  to  be  established  in  the  western 
wilderness.  Having  been  and  brought  up  in  a  land  where 
more  attention  was  paid  to  the  religious,  moral,  and  literary 
instruction  of  the  people,  than  at  any  other  spot  on  the 
globe,  being  the  country  of  the  Puritans,  and  themselves 
the  descendants  of  the  Plymouth  colonists,  they  naturally 
turned  their  attention  to  its  vast  importance  to  the  settle- 
ment just  budding  into  existence  under  their  care.  Accord- 
ingly a  resolution  was  passed,  at  a  meeting  of  the  directors 
and  agents,  on  the  7th  of  March,  1788,  at  Providence,  R.  I., 
for  the  support  of  the  gospel,  and  an  instructor  of  youth ; 
in  consequence  of  which,  the  Rev.  Manasseh  Cutler,  one  of 
the  directors,  in  the  course  of  that  year  engaged  the  Rev. 
Daniel  Story,  then  preaching  at  Worcester,  Mass.,  to  go  to 
the  west  as  a  chaplain  to  the  settlement  at  Marietta. 

Mr.  Story  was  born  in  Boston,  in  1755,  and  graduated  at 
the  Dartmouth  College,  in  Hanover,  N.  H.  He  was  an 
uncle  of  the  late  Judge  Story,  of  Cambridge,  Mass. 

After  a  tedious  and  laborious  journey  over  the  Allegheny 
mountains,  he  arrived  at  Marietta,  in  the  spring  of  1789,  and 
commenced  his  ministerial  labors.  The  settlements  were 
just  beginning,  and  situated  at  various  points,  a  consider- 
able distance  from  each  other.  Nevertheless,  he  visited  them 
in  rotation,  in  conformity  with  the  arrangement  of  the  di- 
rectors, by  which  he  was  to  preach  about  one-third  of  the 


326  DANIEL    STORY. 

time  at  the  settlements  of  Waterford  and  Belpre.  His  first 
visit  to  Waterford  was  in  the  summer  of  that  year,  and  as 
there  was  no  house  large  enough  to  contain  all  the  people, 
he  preached  under  the  shadow  of  a  wide-spreading  tree, 
near  the  mills  of  Wolf  creek,  a  temple  not  reared  by  the 
hands  of  man. 

During  the  Indian  war,  from  1791  to  1705,  he  preached 
the  larger  portion  of  the  time  in  the  northwest  block-house 
of  Campus  Martius,  in  Marietta.  The  upper  story  in  that 
building  was  fitted  up  with  benches  and  a  rude,  simple  desk, 
so  as  to  accommodate  an  audience  of  a  hundred  and  fifty 
or  two  hundred  persons.  It  was  also  used  for  a  school, 
which  was  first  taught  by  Maj.  Anselm  Tupper. 

During  this  period,  a  committee  appointed  by  the  direct- 
ors, to  report  on  the  religious  and  literary  instruction  of  the 
youth,  resolved  that  one  hundred  and  eighty  dollars  be  paid 
from  the  funds  of  the  company,  to  aid  the  new  settlements 
in  paying  a  teacher,  with  the  condition  that  Marietta  sup- 
port him  for  one  year,  Belpre  seven  months,  and  Waterford 
three  months.  If  they  complied  with  this  arrangement,  that 
sum  was  to  be  divided  amongst  them  in  proportion  to  the 
time.  Near  the  same  period,  twenty  dollars  were  appropri- 
ated to  pay  Col.  Battelle  for  his  services  on  the  Sabbath, 
already  performed  at  Belpre.  These  testimonials  sufficiently 
prove  the  interest  the  directors  of  the  company  felt  for  the 
spiritual  welfare,  as  well  as  the  temporal  comfort  of  the 
colonists. 

Mr.  Story  also  preached  occasionally  at  a  large  room  in 
the  upper  story  of  a  frame-house  in  the  garrison  at  the 
Point,  being  at  the  junction  of  the  Muskingum  with  the 
Ohio  on  the  left  bank ;  Fort  Harmer  being  on  the  right  bank. 
At  periods  when  the  Indians  were  quiet,  he  visited  and 
preached  at  the  settlements  of  Belpre  and  Waterford,  fif- 
teen and  twenty  miles  from  Marietta.    These  pastoral  visits 


DANIEL    STORY.  327 

were  made  by  water,  in  a  log  canoe,  propelled  by  the  stout 
arms  and  willing  hearts  of  the  pioneers.  There  were  no 
roads  at  that  day,  by  which  he  could  travel  by  land,  and  be- 
side there  was  less  danger  in  this  mode,  than  by  the  obscure 
paths  of  the  hunters. 

In  the  year  1796  he  united  and  established  a  Congrega- 
tional church,  composed  of  members  residing  in  Marietta, 
Belpre,  Waterford,  and  Vienna  in  Virginia.  In  1797  he  vis- 
ited his  native  state,  and  remained  there  until  he  received 
a  call  to  the  pastoral  charge  of  the  church  he  had  collected 
in  the  wilderness.  He  was  ordained  on  the  15th  of  August, 
1797,  in  Danvers,  Mass.,  there  being  no  clergyman  to  per- 
form that  office  on  the  west  side  of  the  mountains,  to  the 
care  of  the  church  in  Marietta  and  vicinity.  It  was  com- 
posed of  thirty-two  members,  nine  of  whom  were  officers 
of  the  Revolution.  The  ordination  sermon  was  preached 
by  Rev.  Manasseh  Cutler,  and  printed  at  the  time,  a  few 
copies  of  which  are  yet  extant.  This  relation  continued  be- 
tween Mr.  Story  and  the  church  until  the  15th  of  March, 
1804,  when  he  was  dismissed  at  his  own  request,  his  health 
being  too  much  impaired  for  the  performances  of  a  pastor 
any  longer.     He  died  the  30th  of  December  following. 

After  the  Marietta  Academy  was  built  in  1797,  public  wor- 
ship was  held  in  that  edifice,  it  being  constructed  and  so 
finished  as  to  answer  for  that  purpose. 

Mr.  Story  was  in  the  ministry  for  some  time  before  he 
came  to  Marietta,  and  when  selected  by  Dr.  Cutler,  the 
choice  was  much  approved  by  those  who  knew  him.  In 
coming  to  Marietta,  then  a  wilderness,  he  sacrificed  his  in- 
terest and  his  comfort ;  but  knowing  the  necessities  of  the 
people,  he  was  willing  to  part  with  many  things  for  their 
good  and  the  cause  of  his  divine  Master.  What  little  wealth 
he  possessed  was  invested  in  new  lands  before  coming  out, 
with  an  expectation  of  a  reasonable  support  from  the  Ohio 


328  DANIEL    STORY. 

Company,  until  the  rents  of  the  lands  set  apart  for  the  sup- 
port of  the  gospel  should  be  available;  but  this  was  pre- 
vented by  the  Indian  war,  and  no  money  was  raised  from 
that  source  until  the  year  1800.  The  inhabitants  were  gen- 
erally much  impoverished  from  the  same  cause,  and  most 
probably  his  receipts  for  preaching  from  1789  to  1797,  could 
not  have  paid  for  his  board  and  clothing.  He  was  obliged 
to  draw  upon  his  former  earnings,  by  the  sale  of  some  of 
his  lands.  However,  the  hospitality  of  one  or  two  kind 
Christian  friends,  who  gave  him  a  welcome  seat  at  their  ta- 
bles during  a  part  of  this  period,  relieved  him  from  some  of 
his  difficulties.  At  his  death,  the  proceeds  from  the  sale 
of  his  remaining  lands  were  insufficient  to  discharge  the 
debts  incurred  while  laboring  in  the  new  settlements;  so 
that,  like  a  faithful  servant,  he  spent  not  only  his  life,  but 
all  his  substance  in  the  service  of  the  cause  to  which  he  was 
devoted. 

In  person  he  was  rather  tall  and  slender;  quick  and  active 
in  his  movements ;  manners  easy,  with  a  pleasant  address ; 
cheerful  and  animated  in  conversation;  and  always  a  wel- 
come guest  in  the  families  he  visited.  After  the  war  he  fre- 
quently went  out  to  the  new  settlers,  and  sometimes  spent 
a  week  at  their  houses,  in  the  most  familiar  and  pleasant 
intercourse.  His  sermons  wrere  practical;  logically  and  me- 
thodically written  after  the  manner  of  that  day ;  and  were 
said,  in  matter  and  manner,  to  be  fully  equal  to  those  of  the 
best  preachers  in  New  England.  In  prayer  he  was  greatly 
gifted,  both  in  diversity  of  subject,  propriety  and  fervency, 
as  well  as  in  beauty  of  language.  He  was  never  married, 
but  lived  a  single  life  after  the  manner  and  advice  of  St. 
Paul.  Placed  as  he  was,  in  the  midst  of  a  people  trembling 
for  their  lives,  and  filled  with  anxiety  for  the  support  of  their 
families,  in  the  midst  of  the  careless  habits  and  dissolute 
manners  of  the  soldiery,  it  is  not  to  be  expected  that  much 


JABEZ    TRUE.  329 

could  be  done,  by  a  humble  minister  of  the  gospel,  in  ad- 
vancing the  spiritual  condition  of  the  people;  nevertheless, 
he  did  what  he  could  for  the  support  of  the  cause  in  which 
he  was  engaged,  and  his  name  is  still  held  in  grateful  re- 
membrance, by  the  few  living  remnants  of  the  first  settlers 
of  Marietta 


DR.    JABEZ     TRUE 


Dr.  Jabez  True  was  born  in  Hampstead,  N.  H.,  in  the 
year  1760.  His  father  was  the  Rev.  Henry  True,  a  native 
of  Salisbury,  Mass.,  and  was  for  many  years  the  pastor  of 
a  church  in  the  former  place.  When  a  boy  he  was  a  student 
at  the  old  Dammer  Academy,  and  completed  his  education 
at  Cambridge  University.  In  1752,  he  was  settled  in  the 
ministry  after  the  Puritan  order.  In  the  French  war  he 
served  as  the  chaplain  of  a  brigade  of  the  colonial  troops 
at  Ticonderoga  and  Fort  Edward.  He  was  a  fine  scholar, 
of  sound  judgment  and  exemplary  piety,  "making  Revela- 
tion his  guide,  and  Reason  its  companion,"  as  is  inscribed 
on  his  tombstone. 

It  was  the  custom  of  that  day,  before  many  high  schools 
or  academies  were  founded,  for  the  clergymen  of  New  Eng- 
land to  fit  young  men  for  college.  Mr.  True  had  a  class  of 
this  kind  before  the  war  of  the  Revolution,  in  which  was  his 
son  Jabez.  He  read  a  competent  share  of  the  classics  to  pre- 
pare him  for  the  study  of  medicine,  which,  in  due  time,  he 
pursued  under  the  instruction  of  Dr.  Flagg,  of  Hampstead, 


330  JABEZ    TRUE. 

an  eccentric  man,  but  eminent  in  his  profession,  and  highly 
esteemed  by  his  friends.  He  completed  his  studies  some- 
time after  the  commencement  of  hostilities  between  the 
colonies  and  the  mother  country,  when  feeling  the  spirit  of 
resistance  strong  upon  him,  he  engaged  in  the  war  as  a 
surgeon  on  board  a  privateer- ship  from  Newbury  port,  a 
small  seaport  in  the  northeast  corner  of  Massachusetts,  dis- 
tant about  twelve  miles  from  his  home,  and  sailed  for  Europe. 
After  a  short  cruise  and  limited  number  of  captures,  the  pri- 
vateer was  wrecked  on  the  coast  of  Holland,  thus  abruptly 
terminating  his  hopes  of  a  fortune. 

After  about  two  years  spent  amongst  the  Hollanders,  who 
were  friends  of  the  young  republic,  at  the  close  of  the  war 
he  returned  to  America  in  a  merchant-ship.  He  now  gave 
his  attention  to  the  practice  of  medicine,  and  commenced 
business  in  Gilmanton,  N.  H.,  where  he  remained  two  years. 

The  Ohio  Company  was  formed  in  1787,  and  feeling  a 
strong  desire  to  visit  the  enchanting  region  along  the  shores 
of  the  Ohio,  so  admirably  described  by  the  writers  and 
travelers  of  that  day,  he  purchased  a  share  of  their  lands, 
and  concluded  to  leave  the  home  of  his  forefathers,  and 
come  out  to  Marietta  in  company  with  a  family  from  New- 
buryport.  The  emigrants  arrived  at  the  mouth  of  the  Mus- 
kingum early  in  the  summer  of  1788.  The  settlement  at 
that  time  had  but  few  persons  in  it;  the  country  was  covered 
with  a  thick  forest,  and  tbere  was  more  employment  for 
able-bodied  men  in  clearing  lands  and  building  log-cabins, 
than  for  physicians. 

In  the  following  year  several  young  men  from  Boston, 
who  had  become  enamored  with  the  country  from  the  glow- 
ing descriptions  of  its  fertility  and  beauty,  came  out  to  the 
city  of  Marietta.  They  built  a  long,  low  log-cabin,  in  which 
they  kept  bachelors'  hall,  on  the  corner  where  the  Bank  of 
Marietta  now  stands,  and  commenced  clearing  some  land. 


JABEZ    TRUE.  331 

It  was  a  new  business  to  those  who  had  been  brought  up  in 
a  city,  and  when  the  novelty  of  the  change  had  subsided, 
they  began  to  think  of  the  comfortable  homes  they  had  left, 
and  to  sigh  for  a  return.  The  breaking  out  of  the  Indian 
war,  put  a  stop  to  any  further  progress  of  the  settlement  for 
the  present,  and  leaving  all  their  improvements,  returned  to 
Boston.  Not  so  with  Dr.  True ;  he  had  come  out  with  the 
intention  of  spending  his  life  in  the  west,  and  nothing  but 
imperious  necessity  could  turn  him  from  his  purpose.  His 
steady  habits  and  good  character  gained  for  him  the  favor 
of  the  influential  men,  and  in  the  beginning  of  the  war  he 
was  appointed  a  surgeon's-mate  to  the  Ohio  Company's 
troops,  at  a  salary  of  twenty-two  dollars  a  month,  which 
was  a  welcome  and  timely  aid  in  this  season  of  privation. 

During  this  distressing,  and  often  perplexing  period,  he 
was  many  times  exposed  to  the  attack  of  the  Indians,  as  he 
passed  up  and  down  the  Ohio  in  his  visits  to  Belpre,  and 
still  lower  on  the  river,  to  minister  to  the  sick  and  wounded 
in  the  garrisons.  During  the  continuance  of  the  small-pox, 
and  then  again  in  the  sickness  of  the  scarlet  fever,  numer- 
ous trips  were  made  in  a  canoe,  accompanied,  generally,  by 
two  men.  The  most  hazardous  of  these,  was  one  made  to 
Flinn's  station,  or  Belville,  as  it  was  afterward  called,  thirty 
miles  below  Marietta,  the  second  year  of  the  war,  to  visit 
Mrs.  Sherwood,  who  was  attacked  by  the  Indians  and  severely 
wounded,  at  the  same  time  her  husband  was  taken  prisoner. 

Late  in  the  spring  of  the  year  1792,  Stephen  Sherwood, 
an  inmate  of  the  garrison,  went  out  very  early  one  morn- 
ing to  feed  his  hogs,  in  a  pen  a  few  rods  above  the  station 
on  the  bank  of  the  river.  His  wife,  a  fearless,  bold  woman, 
who  had  always  lived  on  the  frontiers,  about  fifty  years  old, 
went  out  at  the  same  time  to  milk  a  cow,  standing  in  the 
path  near  the  corner  of  the  upper  block-house,  about  twenty 
yards  from  the  gate.     After  throwing  the  corn  into  the  pen, 


332  JABEZ    TRUE. 

he  stepped  into  the  thicket  by  the  side  of  the  road  to  cut  a 
stick  for  an  ox-goad,  intending  to  plow  that  day  amongst 
the  young  corn.  While  engaged  in  this  employment,  eight 
or  ten  Indians,  who  were  lying  in  the  bushes,  sprang  upon 
him  and  overpowered  him,  making  him  a  prisoner.  Two  of 
them  remained  with  him,  while  the  others  hurried  down  to 
the  garrison,  and  seeing  the  old  lady  milking  the  cow,  two 
of  them  seized  upon  her,  intending  to  make  a  prisoner  of 
her  also;  but  she  resisted  their  efforts  so  stoutly,  and 
screamed  so  loud  to  the  men  in  the  garrison  for  help,  that 
they  abandoned  that  plan.  One  of  them  knocked  her  down 
with  a  blow  of  his  tomahawk,  while  the  other  proceeded  to 
take  off  her  scalp.  In  the  meantime,  Peter  Anderson  and 
Joel  Dewey  had  just  risen  from  their  beds,  and  were  putting 
their  rifles  in  order  for  a  hunt.  Anderson's  gun  was  lying 
across  his  knees,  with  the  lock  in  his  hand,  having  just  fin- 
ished oiling  it,  when,  hearing  the  screams  of  Mrs.  Sherwood, 
and  readily  guessing  the  cause,  he  clapped  on  the  lock 
without  fastening  the  screws,  and  sprang  up  the  stairway  to 
a  port-hole  in  the  block-house.  As  he  was  about  to  fire  at 
the  Indians,  the  lock  dropped  on  to  the  floor,  greatly  to  his 
vexation.  At  this  instant,  Joel  Dewey,  whose  rifle  was  in 
better  order,  sprang  to  his  side,  and  taking  aim  at  the  In- 
dian who  was  in  the  act  of  scalping  his  victim,  shot  him 
through  the  elbow  of  the  very  arm  that  wielded  the  scalping- 
knife,  before  he  could  complete  the  operation.  Fearing  the 
effects  of  other  shots,  the  two  Indians  retreated.  Before 
they  had  time  to  rally  and  repeat  the  attempt,  Anderson 
and  Dewey  ran  out,  and  seizing  the  old  lady  by  the  shoul- 
ders and  feet,  brought  her  into  the  block-house,  amidst  a 
volley  of  rifle  shots  from  the  other  Indians.  It  was  a  foggy 
morning,  and  they  both  escaped  injury,  although  the  bullets 
were  left  sticking  in  the  logs  on  each  side  of  the  doorway. 
Mrs.  Sherwood  remained  for  a  long  time  without  sense,  or 


JABEZ    TRUE.  333 

signs  of  life,  from  the  stunning  efFects  of  the  blow,  which 
gashed  her  head  in  the  most  shocking  manner,  while  the 
settling  of  the  effused  blood  about  her  eyes,  gave  her  a 
deadly  aspect.  After  a  considerable  period,  signs  of  re- 
turning sensibility  appeared,  and  Joshua  Dewey,  the  brother 
of  Joel,  offered  his  services  to  go  to  Marietta  for  surgical 
aid.  It  may  seem  to  us  to  have  been  a  dangerous  offer,  but 
the  old  borderers  knew  there  was  far  less  danger  immedi- 
ately after  an  attack  of  the  Indians  than  at  any  other  time, 
as  they  always  left  immediately,  the  vicinity  of  their  depre- 
dations, for  fear  of  a  pursuit  or  an  attack  on  themselves. 
This  journey  was  performed  in  a  light  canoe,  with  no 
companion  but  his  trusty  rifle,  which  he  pushed  to  Marietta, 
a  distance  of  thirty  miles,  the  same  day  before  nightfall,  and 
returned  by  midnight  with  Dr.  True,  whose  benevolent  feel- 
ings and  kind  heart  were  ever  ready  to  the  calls  of  the  dis- 
tressed. By  his  judicious  treatment,  she  was  finally  restored 
to  health,  and  lived  many  years  with  her  husband,  who 
effected  his  escape  from  captivity  in  a  short  time. 

In  after  life  he  was  celebrated  for  his  sympathy  for  the 
sick,  having  himself  suffered  much  from  disease.  So  tender 
was  he  to  the  prejudices  of  his  patients,  that  he  seldom  pre- 
scribed without  first  consulting  their  opinion  as  to  the  medi- 
cine to  be  taken,  and  if  they  had  any  particular  objection 
to  the  article  which  he  thought  proper,  it  was  changed  to 
suit  their  taste,  unless  it  was  really  necessary  in  managing 
the  disease,  that  the  objectionable  remedy  should  be  taken. 
His  attitude  by  the  bedside  of  the  sick  was  peculiar  and 
striking.  Leaning  a  little  forward  in  the  chair,  with  his 
long  slender  legs  crossed  over  each  other,  his  compassionate 
but  single  eye  intently  fixed  on  the  patient,  having  lost  the 
use  of  the  other  from  a  long  and  painful  disease  of  the 
optic  nerve,  with  one  hand  on  the  pulse  and  the  other  dili- 
gently employed  in  switching  about  a  long  cue,  for  he  kept 


334  JABEZ    TRUE. 

up  the  good  old  fashion  of  wearing  the  hair  carefully  dressed 
with  a  black  ribbon.  It  was  a  habit  he  had  insensibly  fallen 
into  when  his  mind  was  engaged  on  any  subject  of  deep 
thought,  and  no  doubt  aided  in  fixing  his  attention.  The 
result  of  his  calm,  deliberate  judgment,  was  generally  very 
correct,  and  his  treatment  of  disease  remarkably  successful, 
which  was,  doubtless,  in  part,  owing  to  its  simplicity.  It  is  a 
lamentable  fact  that  many  die  from  the  effects  of  too  many 
and  often  improper  remedies,  as  well  as  from  disease  itself. 

After  the  close  of  the  war,  he  built  a  small  dwelling-house 
and  office  at  the  Point,  and  turned  his  attention,  when  not 
occupied  with  his  profession,  to  the  clearing  and  cultivation 
of  a  small  farm,  about  a  mile  above  the  town.  He  still  re- 
mained a  bachelor,  boarding  for  several  years  in  the  family 
of  Mr.  Moulton,  with  whom  he  emigrated  to  Ohio.  He 
subsequently  boarded  with  Mrs.  Mills,  the  widow  of  Capt. 
William  Mills,  a  very  amiable  and  excellent  woman,  whom 
he  finally  married  in  the  autumn  of  1806. 

In  the  year  1799,  he  became  united  to  the  Congregational 
church  in  Marietta,  the  earliest  religious  society  in  Ohio. 
Of  this  church  he  was  for  many  years  a  deacon,  fulfilling 
the  duties  of  that  sacred  office  with  great  fidelity  and 
propriety. 

His  charity  for  the  poor,  and  especially  the  sick  poor,  was 
unbounded,  and  only  limited  by  his  scanty  means,  often  be- 
stowing on  them,  in  addition  to  his  own  services,  the  larger 
portion  of  the  avails  of  his  attendance  on  richer  patients. 
It  was  many  years  after  the  close  of  the  war  before  bridges 
were  built  and  roads  opened  between  the  settlements,  and 
during  this  period  he  was  the  principal  physician  in  Marietta 
and  for  the  country  round.  His  rides  often  extended  to 
twenty  or  thirty  miles  by  bridle  paths  or  old  Indian  trails, 
marked  out  by  blazes  on  the  trees.  The  people  were  many 
of  them  poor  and  just  beginning  life  in  a  new  country  —  had 


JABEZ    TRUE.  335 

but  little  to  spare  for  the  services  of  the  physician.  With 
him,  however,  it  made  no  difference  whether  the  patient  was 
poor  or  rich;  he  was  always  ready,  when  his  health  per- 
mitted, to  attend  to  the  calls,  and  to  divide  his  last  dollar 
with  those  who  were  in  want.  A  practical  proof  of  his 
equanimity  of  temper,  generosity  and  forgiving  disposition, 
even  to  those  who  had  done  him  an  injury,  was  related  by 
the  transgressor  himself. 

The  doctor  was  a  lover  of  fine  fruit,  and  had  cultivated, 
with  much  care,  some  of  the  choicest  varieties  of  apples 
and  pears,  in  a  small  garden  near  his  house.  Amongst  them 
was  a  tree  of  the  richest  kind  of  summer  sweeting  apples, 
to  which  the  neighboring  boys  paid  daily  visits  whenever 
the  doctor  was  out  of  the  way.  James  Glover,  a  partially 
blind,  near-sighted  man,  well  known  to  the  inhabitants  of 
Marietta,  many  years  since,  for  his  natural,  ready,  and  keen 
wit,  but  then  a  stout  boy  of  fourteen  or  fifteen  years  of  age, 
hearing  the  other  lads  speak  of  the  fine  apples  in  the  doc- 
tor's garden,  concluded  he  would  also  try  them;  so,  one 
night,  a  little  after  bedtime,  he  mounted  the  tree,  and  began 
filling  his  bosom  and  pockets  with  the  fruit :  making  a  rust- 
ling among  the  branches,  the  doctor  happened  to  hear  him, 
and  coming  out  into  the  garden,  peering  up  into  the  trees, 
he  espied  James,  and  hailed  him.  James  was  obliged  to  an- 
swer, and  give  his  name.  "Ah  James  is  that  you;  why  you 
are  on  the  wrong  tree;  that  one  is  the  summer  sweeting. 
Come  down,  come  down,  my  lad."  This  was  indeed  the 
fact,  but  in  his  hurry  he  had  not  yet  made  the  discovery  of 
his  mistake.  James  came  down  very  slowly,  expecting  rough 
treatment,  and  the  kind  language  of  the  doctor  only  a  ruse 
to  get  him  within  his  reach.  But  he  was  very  pleasantly 
disappointed.  Instead  of  using  harsh  words,  or  beating  the 
aggressor,  as  most  men  would  have  done,  he  took  a  long 
pole  and  beat  off  as  many  apples  as  he  could  carry,  and 


330  JABEZ     TRUE. 

dismissed  him  with  the  request,  that  when  he  wanted  any 
more,  to  call  on  him,  and  he  would  assist  him  in  getting 
them.  James,  however,  never  visited  the  tree  again,  and 
did  all  in  his  power  to  persuade  the  other  boys  to  do  so. 

As  the  country  became  more  thickly  settled,  the  roads  better, 
and  the  people  more  wealthy,  other  physicians  came  in,  and 
divided  with  him  the  medical  business,  which  he  bore  with- 
out murmuring  or  complaining,  willing  to  see  all  prosperous 
and  happy,  even  at  his  expense.  For  several  of  the  last 
years  of  his  life,  he  held  the  office  of  county  treasurer, 
which  afforded  him  a  small  remuneration  without  much  toil, 
and  enabled  him  to  further  extend  his  charities  to  benevo- 
lent societies,  and  other  objects  for  the  support  of  religion 
and  morals,  which  came  into  use  about  thirty  years  ago, 
and  of  which  he  was  a  zealous  promoter.  Samuel  J.  Mills, 
the  projector  of  foreign  missions,  and  other  benevolent  so- 
cieties, spent  two  weeks  at  his  house  in  1812,  when  was 
formed  the  Washington  County  Bible  Society,  being  the  first 
in  the  valley  of  the  Ohio.  His  house  wras  the  home  of  all 
traveling  preachers  of  the  Congregational  or  Presbyterian 
order,  who  visited  the  town,  or  were  engaged  in  promoting 
the  spread  of  the  gospel.  He  was  the  Gaius  of  Marietta; 
although,  for  its  population,  it  numbered  many  men  who 
were  zealous  and  liberal  in  all  good  works. 

In  his  domestic  relations  the  doctor  was  very  happy.  His 
wife  was  a  cheerful,  humble,  and  sincere  Christian,  with  a 
lively,  benevolent  temperament,  ever  ready  to  promote  the 
happiness  and  comfort  of  her  companion,  and  to  aid  him  in 
all  deeds  of  charity.  By  this  union  he  had  no  issue ;  but 
the  children  of  his  wife  were  treated  with  all  the  love  and 
kindness  he  could  have  bestowed  on  his  own.  In  person 
Dr.  True  was  tall,  with  simple,  but  not  ungraceful  manners ; 
his  eyes  grey  and  small,  with  full,  projecting  brows,  nose 
large  and  aquiline;   forehead  rather  low;  face  mild,  and 


WILLIAM    DANA.  337 

expressive  of  the  benevolence  of  the  mind  and  heart  within. 
He  was  a  man  of  whom  no  enemy  could  say  hard  things, 
and  whom  every  one  loved  and  respected. 

He  died,  after  a  short  illness,  of  the  prevailing  epidemic 
fever  of  1823. 

The  memory  of  this  good  man  is  still  cherished  by  the 
descendants  of  the  pioneers,  for  his  universal  charity,  sim- 
plicity of  manners,  and  sincere,  unaffected  piety. 


WILLIAM    DANA. 


The  progenitor  of  the  Danas  was  a  French  Huguenot, 
who  fled  from  the  Catholic  persecutions  to  England,  at  the 
period  of  the  edict  of  Nantz.  Near  the  middle  of  the  sev- 
enteenth century,  Richard  Dana,  the  son  of  William  Dana, 
who  was  the  sheriff  of  Middlesex,  under  Queen  Elizabeth, 
came  to  Boston,  and  settled  in  that  vicinity.  He  was  the. 
great  grandfather  of  Capt.  William  Dana,  the  subject  of 
this  brief  biography.  From  this  man  sprang  all  of  that 
name  in  New  England.  He  was  born  at  Little  Cambridge, 
now  Brighton,  Mass.,  in  the  year  1745.  He  had  three  older 
brothers,  Jonathan,  Samuel,  and  Benjamin,  and  two  younger, 
Josiah  and  Ezra,  with  three  sisters.  The  latter  settled  in 
Amherst,  N.  H.,  where  he  held  the  first  rank  in  society.  His 
son  Samuel  was  a  lawyer,  and  a  member  of  Congress  from 
that  state,  in  the  year  1813,  and  held  many  public  stations 
in  the  Democratic  ranks. 

Capt.  Dana  married  Miss  Mary  Bancroft,  the  daughter  of 

Esq.  Bancroft,  of  Peperil,  Mass.     She  had  but  one  brother, 
22 


338  WILLIAM    DANA. 

who  was  a  stanch  patriot,  and  entered  the  service  of  his 
country  at  the  battle  of  Bunker  hill,  where  he  discharged 
his  musket  sixteen  times ;  and  when  the  ammunition  was 
all  expended,  came  off  with  the  retreating  troops.  That 
summer  he  died  with  the  small-pox.  After  Capt.  Dana's 
marriage,  he  resided  in  Charleston ;  but  just  before  the  bat- 
tle of  Lexington,  sold  his  house  and  lot,  and  moved  his 
family  to  the  vicinity  of  Worcester,  where  he  was  living,  on 
the  Mount  Farm,  at  the  commencement  of  hostilities.  This 
is  quite  a  noted  place,  and  now  owned  by  the  Roman  Cath- 
olic College.  Here  he  was  chosen  captain  of  a  company 
of  artillery,  and  was  stationed  with  his  men  a  mile  or  two 
out  of  Charleston,  at  the  time  of  the  battle  of  Bunker  hill.  An 
express  from  Gen.  Putnam,  near  its  close,  arrived,  with  orders 
to  hasten  on  to  the  hill  and  reinforce  the  flagging  provincials. 
He  started  at  full  speed,  but  met  his  countrymen  on  Charles- 
ton neck,  on  their  retreat.  He  continued  in  the  service  for 
two  or  three  years,  attached  to  the  command  of  Gen.  Knox, 
who  was  at  the  head  of  the  artillery  corps.  Having  a 
tempting  offer,  about  the  year  1778,  he  sold  his  possession 
for  continental  money,  in  which  he  had  the  fullest  confi- 
dence. Before  he  could  again  invest  it,  the  paper  per- 
ished on  his  hands,  leaving  him,  like  many  others  of  that 
day,  in  poverty.  Having  no  means  of  supporting  his  young 
and  growing  family  but  his  pay  in  the  service,  which  would 
not  even  support  himself,  he  reluctantly  resigned  his  com- 
mission, and  moved  his  family  to  Amherst,  N.  H.  Here  he 
rented  a  small  farm,  which  required  all  his  efforts,  with  the 
aid  of  his  extra  work  as  a  carpenter,  to  supply  his  family  with 
food;  provisions  being  both  scarce  and  dear.  A  portion 
of  the  time  of  his  living  here,  from  1779  to  1788,  he  was 
employed  as  a  deputy-sheriff. 

In  the  spring  of  the  latter  year  he  decided  on  removing 
his  rapidly  increasing  family  to  the  banks  of  the  Ohio, 


WILLIAM    DANA.  339 

where  the  soil  was  more  fertile,  and  the  climate  less  severe 
than  that  of  New  Hampshire.  Hither  several  of  his  mil- 
itary associates  had  already  gone.  Leaving  his  wife  and 
family  at  Amherst  until  he  could  visit  Ohio,  he,  after  a 
wearisome  journey,  arrived  with  his  two  oldest  sons  at  Ma- 
rietta the  last  of  June,  and  built  a  log-cabin  on  the  corner 
of  market-square,  where  the  post-office  building  now  stands. 
As  it  was  too  late  in  the  season  to  plant  a  crop  of  corn,  he 
cleared  off  a  small  piece  of  ground  on  the  land  occupied 
by  the  female  seminary,  for  a  brick-yard,  and  made  and 
burnt  a  small  kiln  that  summer,  which  were  the  first  bricks 
made  in  the  territory.  These  were  in  demand  for  chimneys, 
and  aided  him  in  supplying  his  present  wants. 

In  1789,  he  moved  out  his  family  and  joined  the  Belpre 
associates,  and  drew  a  lot  of  land  in  that  wide,  beautiful 
bottom  on  the  Ohio  river,  just  above  the  head  of  Blenner- 
hassett's  island.  The  first  labor  was  chiefly  devoted  to 
clearing  the  land  of  the  immense  growth  of  forest  trees 
which  covered  it,  shutting  out  the  rays  of  the  sun,  and  in- 
closing it  with  fence.  This  left  but  little  time  for  the  erection 
of  a  comfortable  cabin,  and  the  winter  was  passed  in  a  hut 
built  like  a  large  corn-crib,  and  so  small  that  all  the  family 
could  not  be  accommodated  at  night,  and  two  of  the  oldest 
boys  slept  in  a  large  covered  road- wagon.  The  next  year, 
or  in  1790,  he  built  a  more  comfortable  house.  That  was 
the  year  of  the  famine,  in  which  Capt.  Dana's  family  suf- 
fered largely  with  the  other  settlers.  During  the  Indian 
war,  they  lived  in  Farmers'  castle.  In  a  few  years  after  its 
close,  his  land  was  cleared,  a  convenient  frame-house  built, 
orchards  of  fruit  trees  in  bearing,  and  smiling  plenty  crowned 
his  table,  around  which  he  could  assemble  eight  sons  and 
three  daughters. 

In  person  Capt.  Dana  was  tall,  and  in  his  manhood  sus- 
tained the  post  and   bearing  of  a  soldier.     In  disposition 


340  NATHANIEL    CUSHING. 

cheerful  and  social,  and  never  happier  than  when  surrounded 
by  his  old  associates  at  the  festive  board. 

He  died  in  the  year  1809,  and  has  left  a  numerous  train 
of  descendants,  who  rank  in  vigor  of  mind,  intelligence, 
civil  and  moral  usefulness,  with  the  first  families  in  the 
community. 


NATHANIEL    CUSHING- 

Col.  Nathaniel  Cushing  was  a  branch  of  the  illustrious 
Cushing  family  of  Boston,  wdiich  is  classed  with  the  first 
citizens  of  the  cradle  of  liberty. 

He  was  born  in  Pembrook,  Mass.,  on  the  8th  of  April, 
1753.  But  little  has  been  preserved  of  his  early  life,  by  his 
relatives,  except  that  he  received  a  good  common  school 
education.  At  a  suitable  age  he  served  an  apprenticeship 
to  the  trade  of  a  house-carpenter,  a  common  occurrence 
among  the  New  England  yeomanry,  who  often  added  to  the 
calling  of  a  farmer  that  of  some  useful  trade  or  handicraft, 
giving  them  vigorous  health  and  strength  of  limbs,  fitting 
them  to  wield  effectively  the  implements  of  war,  as  well  as 
the  toota  used  in  their  daily  occupations. 

He  married  Miss  Elizabeth  Heath,  in  November,  1775, 
the  year  the  struggle  for  independence  commenced.  The 
fruits  of  this  union  were  twelve  children,  six  sons  and  six 
daughters,  several  of  whom  are  now  living  in  Ohio,  amongst 
the  most  respectable  and  wealthy  of  her  citizens.  Mrs. 
Cushing  was  an  accomplished,  well  educated  lady,  of  refined 
manners,  and  accustomed  to  the  best  society  of  that  day. 


NATHANIEL    CUSHING.  341 

At  the  commencement  of  the  war  he  was  living  in  or 
near  Boston,  and  offered  his  services  in  defense  of  the 
country.  In  July,  1775,  while  the  Americans  were  investing 
the  town  under  Gen.  Washington,  he  was  commissioned  by 
Congress  as  a  lieutenant  in  Capt.  Trescott's  company  and 
Col.  Brewer's  regiment.  In  January,  1776,  he  was  commis- 
sioned as  first  lieutenant  in  the  same  company,  but  in  the 
sixth  regiment  of  Massachusetts  infantry,  under  Col.  Whit- 
comb.  In  1777  he  was  promoted  to  a  captain,  and  in  this 
capacity  served  the  remainder  of  the  war,  being  at  its  close 
made  a  major  by  brevet.  He  was  engaged  in  many  battles 
and  skirmishes,  and  noted  as  one  of  the  most  brave  and 
successful  of  the  partizan  officers.  By  his  kindness  to  those 
under  his  command,  and  watchful  care  for  the  best  interests 
of  his  men,  he  became  a  great  favorite  with  the  soldiers. 
As  a  disciplinarian  he  was  very  strict,  and  the  men  often 
remarked  that  they  could  always  depend  on  his  word ;  and 
whether  it  was  to  reward  them  for  their  good  conduct,  or  to 
punish  them  for  their  faults,  it  was  sure  to  be  accomplished. 

In  1780  Capt.  Cushing  was  attached  to  Col.  Rufus  Put- 
nam's regiment  of  light  infantry,  while  the  main  army  was 
stationed  on  the  North  river,  and  the  enemy  held  possession 
of  New  York.  At  this  time  there  was  a  large  district  of 
country  between  the  contending  armies,  called  the  neutral 
ground,  that  was  nearly  deserted  by  the  inhabitants,  and 
ravaged  by  both  parties,  especially  by  the  Tories,  who,  from 
this  and  the  adjacent  country,  supplied  the  British  in  New 
York  with  forage  and  fresh  provisions.  The  Americans,  to 
watch  the  incursions  of  the  enemy,  and  keep  the  Tories  from 
robbing  the  peacable  inhabitants  near  the  lines,  kept  strong 
outposts,  or  detachments  of  soldiers,  on  the  borders  between 
Kingsbridge  and  the  White  Plains.  It  was  a  dangerous  po- 
sition for  the  troops;  and  none  but  the  most  active  and 
vigilant  of  the  partisan  officers  were  ordered  on  this  service. 


342  NATHANIEL    GUSHING. 

They  were  not  only  liable  to  sudden  and  night  attacks,  from 
the  bands  of  Tories  who  were  born  and  brought  up  here, 
and  familiar  with  every  road  and  by-path,  but  also  exposed 
to  a  corps  of  light-horse,  under  the  noted  partisan  officer, 
Col.  Simcoe,  who  had  cut  ofF  and  destroyed  several  ad- 
vanced parties  of  American  troops.  To  avoid  the  latter 
casualty,  the  order  of  the  commanding  general  was,  that 
they  should  not  advance  beyond  a  certain  line  into  the  neu- 
tral ground,  but  keep  within  their  own  defenses,  lest  they 
should  be  surprised  by  the  light-horse,  and  cut  to  pieces. 

Amongst  others  ordered  on  this  hazardous  service,  was 
Capt.  Cushing,  with  a  detachment  of  men  in  addition  to  his 
own  company.  Soon  after  arriving  and  taking  up  his  po- 
sition, information  was  brought  by  some  of  the  Whig  inhab- 
itants, that  there  was  a  considerable  body  of  Tories  posted 
at  no  great  distance  from  him,  on  the  road  to  New  York. 
The  opportunity  thus  offered,  of  distinguishing  himself  and 
the  detachment  under  his  orders,  was  too  great  to  be  re- 
sisted ;  beside,  if  successful,  would  be  doing  a  service  to  the 
cause,  and  wipe  awray  some  of  the  disgrace  attached  to  the 
defeat  of  other  officers  who  had  preceded  him  in  this  service. 
With  the  main  body  of  his  men,  he  early  that  night  com- 
menced a  rapid  march  across  the  country,  by  an  unfre- 
quented road,  and  about  midnight  surprised  and  captured 
the  whole  party.  Col.  Simcoe,  with  his  mounted  rangers, 
was  posted  in  that  vicinity,  and  received  early  notice  of  the 
event,  by  some  friend  of  the  British,  and  acting  with  his 
usual  promptness,  immediately  commenced  a  pursuit,  with 
the  expectation  of  cutting  to  pieces  the  detachment,  and 
releasing  the  prisoners.  Capt.  Cushing,  with  all  haste,  posted 
off  the  captive  Tories  in  advance,  under  a  small  guard ; 
charging  the  officer  to  rush  on  toward  the  lines  as  rapidly 
as  possible,  while  he  followed  more  leisurely  in  the  rear, 
with  the  main  body  of  his  troops.    Expecting  a  pursuit  from 


NATHANIEL    CUSHING.  313 

Simcoe,  he  marched  in  three  ranks,  and  arranged  the  order  of 
defense  if  they  were  attacked  by  the  cavalry ;  a  kind  of  troops 
much  more  dreaded  by  the  infantry  than  those  of  their  own 
class.  When  about  half  way  back,  the  clattering  hoofs  of 
the  rangers'  horses  were  heard  in  hot  pursuit.  As  they  ap- 
proached, he  halted  his  detachment  in  the  middle  of  the 
road,  ready  to  receive  the  charge.  It  fortunately  happened 
that  he  found,  in  the  house  with  the  captured  Tories,  a  num- 
ber of  long  spears  or  lances,  sufficient  to  arm  the  rear  rank. 
When  called  to  a  halt,  and  face  the  enemy,  it  brought  the 
spearmen  in  front.  Standing  in  close  array,  shoulder  to 
shoulder,  with  one  end  resting  on  the  ground,  they  received 
their  enraged  enemies  on  their  points,  while  the  other  two 
ranks  poured  upon  them  a  deadly  fire,  leaving  many  of  the 
horses  without  riders.  This  unexpected  result  threw  them 
into  disorder,  and  their  leader  directed  a  retreat.  Cushing 
now  renewed  his  march  in  the  same  order.  Simcoe,  enraged 
and  chagrined  at  the  failure  of  his  charge,  again  ordered  a 
fresh  and  more  furious  onset,  but  was  received  by  his  brave 
antagonist  in  the  same  cool  and  resolute  manner,  and  met 
with  a  still  more  decided  repulse,  losing  a  number  of  his 
best  men  and  horses.  Not  yet  satisfied  to  let  his  enemies 
escape,  he  made  a  third  unsuccessful  attempt,  and  gave  up 
the  pursuit,  leaving  Capt.  Cushing  to  retire  at  his  leisure. 
He  reached  his  post  unmolested,  with  all  the  prisoners,  and 
the  loss  of  only  a  few  men  wounded,  but  none  killed.  The 
following  day  he  was  relieved  by  a  fresh  detachment, 
and  marched  into  camp  with  the  trophies  of  this  brave 
adventure. 

The  morning  after  his  return,  in  the  orders  of  the  day,  by 
the  commander-in-chief,  notice  was  taken  of  this  affair,  and 
any  similar  attempt  by  the  troops  on  the  lines  forbidden, 
thereby  apparently  censuring  the  conduct  of  Capt.  Cushing. 
This  was  rather  a  damper  to  the  feelings  of  a  brave  officer, 


344  NATHANIEL    CUSHING. 

who  was  peculiarly  sensitive,  and  sustained  a  nice  sense  of 
military  honor.  Soon  after  the  promulgation  of  the  order, 
and  he  had  retired  to  his  tent,  brooding  over  the  event  of 
the  morning,  and  half  inclined  to  be  both  angry  and  morti- 
fied at  the  nice  distinctions  of  the  commander,  an  aid  of 
Gen.  Washington  entered  with  a  polite  invitation  to  dine 
with  him.  He  readily  complied  with  the  request,  and  at  the 
table  was  placed  in  the  post  of  honor,  at  Washington's 
right  hand.  A  large  number  of  officers  were  present,  in 
whose  hearing  he  highly  complimented  Capt.  Cushing  for 
the  gallant  manner  in  which  he  conducted  the  assault  on 
the  Tories,  and  the  bravery  and  skill  with  which  he  defeated 
the  charges  of  Simcoe;  and  that  there  were  few,  indeed, 
who  could  have  conducted  the  retreat  with  the  coolness  and 
success  he  had  done ;  but,  at  the  same  time,  added  that  for 
the  strict  and  orderly  discipline  of  the  army,  it  was  neces- 
sary to  discountenance  every  act  that  contravened  the  or- 
ders of  the  commander-in-chief.  This  satisfied  all  his 
mortified  feelings,  and  increased  his  love  and  respect  for  his 
revered  general. 

After  the  close  of  the  war  he  lived  in  Boston,  from 
whence,  on  the  formation  of  the  Ohio  Company,  he  re- 
moved with  his  family  to  Marietta,  in  the  summer  of  1788. 
Soon  after  his  arrival,  in  August,  he  was  commissioned  by 
Gov.  St.  Clair  as  a  captain  in  the  first  regiment  of  territo- 
rial militia,  and  in  1797,  by  the  same,  as  colonel  of  the 
regiment.  When  the  Belpre  colony  was  formed,  in  1789, 
he  joined  the  association,  and  was  one  of  the  most  active, 
brave,  and  intelligent  men,  in  arranging  and  conducting  the 
military  and  civil  affairs  of  that  settlement.  After  the  cap- 
ture of  Capt.  Goodale  by  the  Indians,  he  was  chosen  to 
command  the  garrison  of  Farmers'  castle.  At  the  close  of 
the  war  he  settled  on  his  farm,  and  pursued  agriculture 
for  the  support  of  his  family,  and  was  a  very  successful 


JONATHAN    HASKELL.  345 

cultivator.  He  paid  great  attention  to  the  education  of  his 
children,  who  now  rank  with  the  most  worthy  and  useful 
citizens  of  Ohio. 

Thomas  H.  Cushing  was  a  younger  brother,  and  faith- 
fully served  his  country,  not  only  in  the  war  of  1770,  but 
also  in  that  of  1812.  In  1815  he  was  collector  of  the  United 
States  revenue  in  the  port  of  New  London,  Conn.,  which 
office  he  held  until  his  death,  in  1822.  He  is  spoken  of  as 
a  very  excellent  man. 

In  person,  Col.  Cushing  was  rather  short,  but  very  mus- 
cular and  stout-limbed ;  eyes  black,  and  of  the  keenest  lus- 
ter, piercing  and  intelligent ;  face  well  formed,  with  an  ex- 
pression of  firmness  and  dignity  seldom  seen;  manners 
gentlemanly  and  refined;  very  courteous  and  affable  in 
his  intercourse  with  mankind,  whether  poor  or  rich.  He 
was  highly  esteemed  by  Mr.  Blennerhasset,  and  both  him 
and  Mrs.  Cushing  treated  with  marked  attention. 

They  died  in  August,  in  the  year  1814;  but  their  names 
will  be  long  cherished  by  the  descendants  of  the  early 
settlers,  as  amongst  the  most  worthy  of  that  heroic  band. 


MAJ.  JONATHAN  HASKELL. 

Maj.  Jonathan  Haskell  was  born  in  Rochester,  Mass., 
the  19th  of  March,  1775.  Like  the  larger  portion  of  the 
New  Englanders  of  that  day,  he  was  brought  up  on  a  farm, 
and  received  only  a  common  school  education,  which  fitted 
him  for  conducting  the  usual  concerns  of  life  to  which  he 
might  be  called. 


346  JONATHAN    HASKELL. 

At  the  commencement  of  the  war  of  Independence,  when 
he  was  twenty  years  old,  he  was  engaged  in  agriculture. 
How  early  he  entered  the  army  is  not  known.  In  1779  he 
was  aid-de-camp  to  Gen.  Patterson,  of  the  Massachusetts 
line,  and  was  commissioned  as  a  lieutenant.  lie  continued 
to  serve  until  the  close  of  the  war,  either  as  an  aid,  or  in 
the  line  of  the  army. 

When  the  Ohio  Company  was  formed,  he  became  an  as- 
sociate, and  moved  out  there  in  company  with  Capt.  Devol's 
family,  in  the  autumn  of  1788.  In  1789  he  united  with  the 
Belpre  settlement,  and  commenced  clearing  his  farm.  On 
the  breaking  out  of  the  Indian  war,  in  January,  1791,  he  re- 
ceived the  appointment  of  captain  in  the  regular  service, 
and  went  to  Rochester,  Mass.,  where  he  recruited  a  com- 
pany, and  returned  to  Marietta  in  December;  where  he  was 
stationed  for  the  defense  of  that,  and  the  adjacent  settle- 
ments ;  as  the  troops  had  been  withdrawn  from  Fort  Har- 
mer  in  the  fall  of  1790.  After  the  defeat  of  Gen.  St.  Clair, 
he  remained  at  Marietta  until  March,  1793,  when  he  was 
commissioned  as  a  captain  in  the  second  sub-legion  under 
Gen.  Wayne,  and  joined  the  army  on  the  frontiers  that  sum- 
mer. He  was  stationed  at  Fort  St.  Clair,  where  he  remained 
until  June,  1794,  when  he  was  appointed  to  the  command 
of  the  fourth  sub-legion,  ranking  as  a  major,  although  his 
commission  was  not  filled  until  August,  1795.  In  a  letter 
to  Griffin  Greene,  Esq.,  whose  relative  he  married,  he  gives 
a  sketch  of  the  campaign  which  defeated  the  combined 
forces  of  the  Indians  and  closed  the  war. 

"  Head  Quarters,  Miami  of  the  Lake,  August  29th,  1794. 

Sir:  The  28th  of  July  the  army  moved  forward,  consisting 
of  about  eighteen  hundred  regulars  and  fifteen  hundred 
militia,  from  the  state  of  Kentucky,  passing  by  the  way 
of  St.  Clair's  battle-ground,  now  Fort  Recovery.  We  then 
turned  more  to  the  eastward,  and  struck  the  St.  Mary's  in 


JONATHAN    HASKELL.  347 

twenty  miles,  where  we  erected  a  small  fort,  and  left  a  sub 
altern's  command.  We  then  crossed  the  St.  Mary's,  and  in 
four  or  five  days'  marching  found  the  Auglaize  river,  and 
continued  on  down  that  stream  to  its  junction  with  the  Mi- 
ami of  the  lake;  distant  one  hundred  miles  from  Greenville, 
by  the  route  we  pursued.  At  this  place  we  built  a  garrison, 
and  left  a  major  to  command  it.  The  army  then  marched 
down  the  river  forty-seven  miles  from  the  new  garrison,  and 
on  the  20th  inst.,  at  nine  o'clock  in  the  morning,  came  up 
with  the  Indians,  who  had  posted  themselves  in  a  position 
chosen  as  most  favorable  for  defense.  The  troops  charged 
upon  them  with  the  bayonet,  and  drove  them  two  miles, 
through  a  thicket  of  woods,  fallen  timber,  and  underbrush, 
when  the  cavalry  fell  upon  and  entirely  routed  them.  Our 
line  extended  two  and  a  half  miles,  and  yet  it  was  with  dif- 
ficulty we  outflanked  them.  One  of  the  prisoners,  a  white 
man,  says  the  number  of  the  Indians  engaged  was  about 
twelve  hundred,  aided  by  two  hundred  and  fifty  white  men 
from  Detroit.  Our  loss  in  the  action  was  two  officers  killed, 
and  four  wounded,  with  about  thirty  privates  killed,  and 
eighty  wounded.  The  Indians  suffered  much ;  about  forty 
or  fifty  of  their  dead  fell  into  our  hands.  The  prisoner  was 
asked  why  they  did  not  fight  better?  He  said  that  we  would 
give  them  no  time  to  load  their  pieces,  but  kept  them  con- 
stantly on  the  run.  Two  miles  in  advance  of  the  battle- 
ground, is  a  British  garrison,  established  last  spring,  which 
we  marched  round  within  pistol  shot,  and  demanded  a  sur- 
render; but  they  refused  to  give  it  up.  Our  artillery  being 
too  light,  and  the  fort  too  strong  to  carry  by  storm,  it  was 
not  attacked;  but  we  burnt  their  out-houses,  destroyed  all 
their  gardens,  cornfields,  and  grass,  within  musket  shot  of 
the  place,  and  all  below  for  eight  or  nine  miles,  without  any 
opposition.  On  the  27th  we  arrived  at  this  place,  where  we 
have  a  fort,  and  shall  halt  a  few  days  to  rest.     We  have 


348  JONATHAN    HASKELL. 

marched  through  the  Indian  settlements  and  villages  for 
about  sixty  miles,  destroyed  several  thousand  acres  of  corn, 
beans,  and  all  kinds  of  vegetables,  burned  their  houses,  with 
furniture,  tools,  &c.  A  detachment  has  gone  into  Fort  Re- 
covery for  a  supply  of  provisions  for  the  troops,  and  when 
it  returns,  we  shall  march  up  the  Miami  sixty  miles,  to  where 
the  St.  Mary's  unites  with  the  St.  Joseph's,  and  destroy  all 
the  corn  in  that  country." 

This  letter  describes,  in  plain  terms,  the  ruin  and  devasta- 
tion that  marked  the  course  of  the  American  army.  It 
might  have  been  considered  a  wise  policy  to  devote  to  de- 
struction the  dwellings,  cornfields,  gardens,  and  in  fact  every 
species  of  property  that  belonged  to  the  hostile  savages,  but 
it  was  also  a  most  cruel  policy.  The  British  troops,  in  their 
inroads  amongst  the  rebel  settlements  of  the  Revolutionary 
war,  never  conducted  more  barbarously.  The  Indian  vil- 
lages on  the  Miami  and  the  Auglaize,  were  snugly  and 
comfortably  built — were  furnished  with  many  convenient 
articles  of  house-keeping  and  clothing.  They  had  large 
fields  of  corn  and  beans,  with  gardens  of  melons,  squashes, 
and  various  other  vegetables.  Mr.  Joseph  Kelly,  of  Ma- 
rietta, then  a  boy  of  twelve  years  old,  and  for  several  years 
a  prisoner  with  the  Indians,  who  treated  him  kindly,  and  was 
adopted  into  a  family  as  one  of  their  own  children,  was 
living  at  this  time  with  them  at  the  junction  of  the  St.  Mary's 
and  Auglaize,  the  spot  where  Maj.  Haskell  says  the  army 
would  next  go,  to  complete  their  work  of  destruction.  Mr. 
Kelly  was  there  when  an  Indian  runner  announced  that  the 
American  troops  had  arrived  in  the  vicinity  of  the  village. 
His  friends  had  not  expected  them  so  soon,  and  with  the  ut- 
most haste  and  consternation,  the  old  men,  with  the  women 
and  children,  the  warriors  being  absent,  hurried  aboard  their 
canoes,  taking  nothing  with  them  but  a  few  kettles  and 
blankets,  not  having  time   to   collect  any  provisions  from 


EBENEZER    BATTELLE.  349 

their  fields  and  gardens.  The  sun  was  only  an  hour  or  two 
high  when  they  departed,  in  as  deep  sorrow  at  the  loss  of 
their  country  and  homes,  as  the  Trojans  of  old  when  they 
evacuated  their  favorite  city.  Before  the  next  day  at  noon, 
their  nice  village  was  burnt  to  the  ground ;  their  cornfields 
of  several  hundred  acres,  just  beginning  to  ripen,  were  cut 
down  and  trampled  under  foot  by  the  horses  and  oxen  of 
the  invaders,  while  their  melons  and  squashes  were  pulled 
up  by  the  roots.  The  following  winter,  the  poor  Indians  de- 
prived of  their  stock  of  corn  and  beans,  which  were  grown 
every  year  and  laid  up  for  their  winter  food  as  regularly  as 
among  the  white  people,  suffered  the  extreme  of  want. 
Game  was  scarce  in  the  country  they  retreated  to  on  the 
west  of  the  Miami,  and  what  few  deer  and  fish  they  could 
collect,  barely  served  to  keep  them  alive.  It  was  a  cruel 
policy;  but  probably  subdued  their  Spartan  courage  more 
than  two  or  three  defeats,  as  for  many  years  thereafter,  until 
the  days  of  Tecumseh,  they  remained  at  peace. 

After  the  close  of  the  war,  Maj.  Haskell  returned  to  his 
farm  at  Belpre,  where  he  died  in  December,  1814.  He  was 
considered  a  brave  man  and  a  good  officer.  Several  of  his 
descendants  are  living  in  Washington  county. 


COL.    EBENEZER    BATTELLE. 

Col.  Ebenezer  Battelle  was  a  descendant  of  the  Puritan 
race,  and  the  only  son  of  Ebenezer  Battelle, Esq.,  of  Dedham, 
Mass.  His  father  was  one  of  the  industrious,  honest  yeo- 
manry of  the  good  old  bay  state,  who  duly  appreciated  the 


350  EBENEZEK.    BATTELLE. 

value  of  learning,  more  farmers'  sons  being  liberally  edu- 
cated in  that  state  than  in  any  other  of  the  Union.  At  a 
suitable  age  he  pursued  a  full  college  course  at  Cambridge, 
and  graduated  in  the  year  1775.  He  was  intended  for  the 
ministry,  as  were  a  large  share  of  the  educated  men  before 
the  Revolution;  but  the  war  breaking  out  in  the  last  year 
of  his  course,  his  attention  was  diverted  from  the  study  of 
divinity  to  that  of  a  martial  nature.  He  held  the  commis- 
sion of  a  colonel  under  the  governor  of  Massachusetts,  in 
the  militia,  during  or  at  the  close  of  the  war. 

In  1781,  he  commenced  business  in  Boston,  as  the  active 
partner  in  a  bookstore,  in  company  with  Isaiah  Thomas,  of 
Worcester,  a  man  who  delighted  in  being  useful,  and  assisted 
many  young  men  in  their  commencement  of  life.  He  re- 
mained in  this  occupation  six  years ;  and  during  the  time, 
married  Miss  Anna  Darant,  the  daughter  of  Cornelius  Dar- 
ant,  Esq.,  a  rich  merchant  of  that  place.  She  was  a  woman 
of  superior  intellect,  beautiful  person,  and  great  excellence 
of  character,  the  impress  of  which  descended  to  her  children. 
This  bookstore  was  the  second  one  ever  opened  in  Boston, 
the  first  being  kept  by  Mr.  Guile,  to  which  was  added  a  cir- 
culating library  to  aid  in  keeping  up  the  establishment. 
While  here  he  was  elected  to  the  command  of  the  Ancient 
and  Honorable  Artillery  Company,  a  noted  band  of  military 
men,  composed  of  officers  of  good  standing  and  character. 

On  the  formation  of  the  Ohio  Company,  he  became  an 
associate,  and  was  appointed  one  of  their  agents.  On  the- 
sixth  of  April,  1788,  the  day  before  the  pioneers  landed  at 
Marietta,  he  left  Boston  in  company  with  Col.  John  May 
and  others,  by  water,  for  the  mouth  of  the  Muskingum,  by 
way  of  Baltimore.  After  a  six  weeks'  tour  in  crossing  the 
mountains,  by  almost  impassable  roads,  with  their  heavy- 
loaded  wagon,  they  reached  the  place  of  destination  the  last 
of  May.     During  the  following  summer  he  was  employed 


EBENEZER    BATTELLE.  351 


in  erecting  a  dwelling-house,  in  the  front  curtain  of  Campus 
Martius,  for  the  reception  of  his  family.  The  first  Court  of 
Quarter  Sessions,  held  the  9th  of  September,  was  opened 
in  his  house,  as  appears  by  the  old  records  of  that  court. 
In  October,  1788,  he  recrossed  the  mountains  to  meet  his 
family  at  Baltimore,  and  guide  them  over  the  Alleghenies. 
He  found  them  under  the  care  of  Mr.  Daniel  Mayo,  a  young 
gentleman  who  had  recently  graduated  at  Cambridge,  and 
became  a  resident  of  Newport,  Ky.,  after  the  close  of  the 
Indian  war.  Their  journey,  at  this  late  season  of  the  year, 
was  very  trying  to  Mrs.  Battelle,  who  had  all  her  life  been 
nurtured  in  the  comforts  of  a  city.  At  Simrel's  ferry,  a  noted 
place  of  embarkation  for  emigrants,  they  met  with  several 
other  New  England  families,  amongst  them,  Isaac  Pierce, 
Charles  Green,  and  Capt.  Zebulon  King,  who,  the  next 
spring,  was  killed  by  the  Indians.  The  last  of  November, 
eight  families  embarked  in  one  boat,  and  that  not  a  large 
one,  and  arrived  at  Marietta  in  December.  Here  they  met 
with  a  hearty  welcome  from  the  five  or  six  females  and  heads 
of  families  who  had  come  on  in  August  preceding.  The 
winter  was  passed  very  pleasantly  in  Campus  Martius,  in 
the  company  of  such  men  as  Gens.  Varnum,  Parsons,  and 
Putnam,  with  Gov.  St.  Clair  and  the  officers  of  Fort  Harmer. 
The  Indians  were  yet  all  friendly,  and  an  abundance  of  wild 
game,  with  a  good  stock  of  provisions  from  Pittsburg,  ren- 
dered this  as  delightful  a  season  as  any  that  occurred  for 
many  years  thereafter. 

That  winter  an  association  was  formed  for  the  settlement 
at  Belpre,  composed  almost  entirely  of  the  old  officers  of 
the  continental  line.  Col.  Battelle  united  himself  with 
these  enterprising  and  intelligent  men,  and  in  the  spring  of 
1789  proceeded  to  clear  his  land  and  erect  a  stout  block- 
house for  the  reception  of  his  family.  On  the  1st  day  of 
May,  one  of  the  associates,  Capt.  King,  from  Rhode  Island, 


352  EBENEZEIt    BATTELLE. 

was  killed  by  the  Indians,  while  peaceably  at  work  on  his 
new  land.  The  following  day  Col.  Battelle,  with  two  of  his 
sons  and  Griffin  Greene,  Esq.,  embarked  at  Marietta  in  a 
large  canoe,  with  farming  tools,  provisions,  &c.  On  their 
way  down  they  were  hailed  by  some  one  from  the  shore, 
and  informed  of  this  sad  event.  They  landed  and  held  a 
consultation  on  what  was  best  to  be  done.  Some  were  for 
returning;  but  they  finally  decided  on  proceeding.  The 
block-houses  of  the  two  emigrants  were  near  each  other, 
and  nearly  opposite  to  the  middle  of  Backus'  island,  on  the 
spot  afterward  occupied  by  Farmers'  castle.  After  landing, 
the  other  settlers  came  and  joined  them  for  mutual  defense, 
and  through  the  night  kept  up  a  military  guard,  in  the  old 
Revolutionary  style,  the  sentinel  calling  out  every  fifteen 
minutes, "  All's  well,"  not  thinking  this  would  give  the  skulk- 
ing Indians  notice  where  to  find  them.  No  enemy,  how- 
ever, molested  them  during  the  night,  and  their  fears  of 
attack  gradually  subsided.  They  were  not  again  disturbed 
until  the  winter  of  1791. 

Early  in  April,  before  any  families  had  moved  on  to  the 
ground,  a  party  of  officers  from  Fort  Harmer,  with  their 
wives,  and  a  few  ladies  from  Marietta,  made  a  visit  to  the 
new  settlement,  in  the  officer's  barge,  a  fine,  large  boat, 
rowed  with  twelve  oars.  These  were  the  first  white  females 
who  ever  set  foot  on  the  soil  of  Belpre.  On  their  return. 
Col.  Battelle,  with  several  others,  accompanied  them  by 
water  in  a  canoe,  and  another  party  by  land.  While  on 
the  voyage,  a  large  bear  was  discovered  swimming  across 
the  river.  The  landsmen  fired  at  him  with  their  muskets 
and  rifles,  but  without  effect.  The  canoe  then  ranged  along- 
side, when  Col.  Battelle  seized  him  by  the  tail,  and  when 
the  bear  attempted  to  bite  his  hand,  he  raised  his  hind  parts, 
throwing  his  head  under  water,  and  thus  escaped  his  teeth. 
One  of  his  companions  soon  killed  him  with  an  axe.     He 


EBENEZER    BATTELLE.  353 

weighed  over  three  hundred  pounds,  and  afforded  several 
fine  dinners  to  his  captors.  In  1790,  owing  to  early  frosts 
and  late  planting  the  year  previous,  the  inhabitants  were 
left  without  bread-stuff,  corn  being  their  chief  dependence. 
Their  sufferings  were  very  great,  until  the  crop  of  1790  was 
gathered,  which  proved  to  be  plentiful,  and  after  ^hat  time 
they  did  not  suffer  again  for  food.  During  the  Indian  war 
his  family  was  sheltered  in  Farmers'  castle,  and  all  escaped 
injury,  though  often  in  danger.  Several  of  the  inmates 
were  killed. 

In  the  plan  of  Farmers'  castle,  his  block-house  occupied 
the  northeast  corner.  In  their  lower  room  of  this  building, 
regularly  on  the  Sabbath,  divine  worship  was  kept  up  by 
the  inhabitants.  His  son  Ebenezer,  a  lad  of  fourteen  years, 
was  drummer  to  the  garrison,  and  at  the  hour  of  service 
marched  with  his  drum  the  whole  length  of  the  castle,  sum- 
moning the  people  to  worship.  Col.  Battelle  officiated  as 
chaplain,  sometimes  delivering  his  own  discourses,  and,  at 
others,  reading  the  sermons  of  a  standard  divine ;  so  that 
the  Sabbath  was  honored  and  generally  respected  by  the 
inhabitants. 

He  died  at  the  residence  of  his  son,  in  Newport,  Washing- 
ton county,  Ohio,  in  the  year  1815. 

He  left  three  sons  and  one  daughter,  Cornelius,  Ebenezer, 

and  Thomas.     Cornelius  and  Thomas,  at  the  close  of  the 

war,  went  to  the  West  Indies,  where  a  rich  uncle  put  them 

into  lucrative  business.     Thomas  married  the  daughter  of 

Gov.  Livingston,  of  New  York,  and  Cornelius  the  daughter 

of  a  rich  planter.     Louisa  remained  single,  and  lived  in 

Boston  with  her  mother's  relatives.     Ebenezer  settled  on  a 

farm  in  Newport,  and  has  a  numerous  family  of  children, 

noted  for  their  intelligence  and  respectability. 
23 


COL.    ISRAEL    PUTNAM. 

Col.  Israel  Putnam  was  the  eldest  son  of  Gen.  Israel  Put- 
nam, of  Pomfret,  Conn.,  but  was  born  in  the  town  of  Salem, 
Mass.,  in  1739.  He  had  three  brothers,  Daniel,  David  and 
Schuyler,  whose  native  place  was  Pomfret.  His  early  days 
were  passed  on  the  farm,  and  he  was  bred  to  the  noble  art 
of  agriculture,  an  art  without  which  all  other  arts  are  useless. 
This  gave  him  a  vigorous,  healthy  frame,  and  fitted  him  for 
the  turmoils  of  the  camp  or  the  labors  of  the  field. 

His  education  was  similar  to  that  of  the  sons  of  the  sur- 
rounding yeomanry,  equal  to  all  the  common  concerns  of 
life.  As  a  proof  that  Gen.  Putnam  highly  valued  learning 
and  the  cultivation  of  the  mind,  he  collected  a  large  library 
of  the  most  useful  books;  embracing  history,  belles-lettres, 
travels,  &c,  for  the  benefit  of  himself  and  children,  called 
the  Putnam  family  library.  After  his  death  they  were 
divided  amongst  the  hens,  and  quite  a  number  of  them 
found  their  way  to  Ohio,  being  brought  out  by  his  son  and 
grandchildren. 

About  the  year  1764,  he  married  Miss  Sarah  Waldo,  of 
an  ancient  and  honorable  family  in  Pomfret,  and  a  woman 
of  excellent  qualities,  with  whom  he  passed  a  long  and  happy 
life. 

On  the  20th  of  April,  1775,  when  the  news  of  the  battle 
of  Lexington  arrived,  flying  on  the  wings  of  the  wind,  his 
father,  Col.  Putnam,  was  plowing  in  the  field  with  four  oxen. 
He  left  them  standing  in  their  yokes,  and  hastening  to  the 
stable,  mounted  one  of  his  fleetest  horses,  without  even 
changing  his  dress,  and  started  for  the  scene  of  action.  The 
distance  was  one  hundred  miles,  which  he  accomplished  by 


ISRAEL    PUTNAM.  355 

a  relay  of  horses,  in  twenty-four  hours.  Shortly  after  his 
departure,  his  son  Israel  raised  a  company  of  volunteers,  of 
which  he  was  the  captain,  and  marched  to  Cambridge,  where 
he  remained  under  his  father's  orders  until  the  arrival  of 
Gen.  Washington.  Soon  after  this  time,  Col.  Putnam  was 
commissioned  by  Congress  as  a  major-general,  and  on  the 
22d  of  July,  Capt.  Putnam  and  Lieut.  Samuel  Webb  were 
appointed  his  aids.  He  accompanied  his  father  to  New 
York,  where  he  took  command  of  that  division  of  the  army, 
and  to  the  posts  on  the  Hudson  river.  Having  but  little 
taste  for  military  life,  to  which  calling  neither  his  address  nor 
personal  appearance  fitted  him,  being  diffident  and  awkward 
in  his  manners,  but  naturally  fearless  and  brave  like  all  his 
name,  after  spending  about  three  years  in  the  army,  he  con- 
cluded to  quit  the  service  and  devote  his  attention  to  the 
farm,  for  which  he  was  eminently  fitted,  both  by  inclina- 
tion and  practice.  While  absent  from  his  home,  his  wife 
took  charge  of  the  family  of  six  children.  She  was  a  woman 
of  great  spirit,  and  as  firm  a  patriot  as  the  general  himself, 
hating,  with  all  her  soul  and  strength,  the  British  oppressors 
of  her  country,  who  were  technically  called  Redcoats,  and 
loving  with  equal  ardor  the  American  soldiers,  supplying 
them  with  food  and  clothing  to  the  extent  of  her  abilities. 
In  the  winter  of  1779,  when  the  patriot  troops  suffered  so 
much  from  the  want  of  warm  garments,  she  had  spun  and 
wove  in  her  own  house,  a  number  of  blankets  made  of  the 
finest  wool  in  the  flock,  and  sent  on  for  their  relief.  Numer- 
ous pairs  of  stockings  were  also  manufactured  by  her  own 
hands,  and  contributed  in  the  same  way.  No  one  at  this 
day  knows  or  can  appreciate  the  value  of  the  labors  of 
American  females  in  achieving  our  freedom.  They  wrought 
and  suffered  in  silence,  bearing  many  privations  in  common 
with  their  husbands  and  sons  in  the  days  which  tried  the 
patriotism  of  the  colonists.     She  was  a  woman  of  elevated 


356  ISRAEL    PUTNAM. 

mind  and  great  personal  courage,  worthy  of  the  family  to 
which  she  was  allied.  In  the  absence  of  her  husband,  when 
the  vultures  and  hawks  attacked  the  poultry,  she  could  load 
and  lire  his  light  fowling-piece  at  them,  without  dodging  at 
the  Hash. 

While  at  Harlem  hights,  Col.  Putnam  purchased  two  fine 
bulls,  to  improve  his  stock  of  cattle ;  one  was  black,  and  a 
full-blooded  English  animal ;  the  other,  an  American,  of  a 
mottled  color.  From  these,  crossed  with  his  best  native 
cows,  was  raised  a  very  superior  stock,  celebrated  for  size, 
and  their  excellent  qualities  for  the  dairy.  Oxen  of  this 
breed  were  brought  out  to  Ohio  in  the  year  1788,  and  cows 
in  1795,  which  were  as  famous  for  milk  as  the  noted  Dur- 
hams  of  this  day.  During  the  period  of  the  Revolution, 
amidst  all  their  other  cares,  intelligent  American  farmers 
found  time  to  attend  to  the  improvement  of  their  farming 
operations,  as  well  as  to  the  calls  of  military  duties. 

When  the  Ohio  Company  was  formed,  he  became  an  as- 
sociate; and  with  two  of  his  sons  crossed  the  mountains, 
bringing  a  wagon  load  of  farming  utensils ;  but  left  his  wife 
and  other  children  in  Pomfret,  until  a  farm  was  provided 
for  their  comfort  in  the  wilderness.  His  team  was  composed 
of  two  yokes  of  oxen,  sprung  from  this  famous  stock.  The 
adventure  in  crossing  the  North  river,  related  in  the  biogra- 
phy of  his  son  Waldo,  took  place  on  this  journey;  and  his 
life  was  saved  by  one  of  these  fine  oxen.  At  the  formation 
of  the  settlement  in  Belpre,  in  the  spring  of  1789,  he  joined 
that  community,  locating  his  farm  in  the  broad,  beautiful 
bottom  on  the  Ohio  river,  opposite  to  the  mouth  of  the  Lit- 
tle Kenawha.  Here  he  remained,  clearing  and  fencing  the 
land,  until  the  fall  of  1790,  when  he  returned  to  Connecticut 
for  his  family.  The  Indian  war  broke  out  in  January  fol- 
lowing, and  he  did  not  return  until  after  the  peace  of  1795. 

His  wealth,  although  not  great,  yet  gave  him  facilities  for 


ISRAEL    PUTNAM.  357 

improving  his  lands  and  erecting  buildings,  rather  superior 
to  most  of  the  other  associates,  who  were  generally  in  very 
moderate  circumstances.  He  was  a  practical  and  intelli- 
gent agriculturist,  who,  by  his  example  and  precepts,  was 
the  means  of  giving  a  correct  tone  to  the  progress  of  farm- 
ing in  Belpre,  thus  conferring  a  direct  benefit  on  the  country. 
In  all  public  improvements  on  the  roads  and  bridges,  so  use- 
ful in  new  settlements,  he  was  a  leading  and  influential 
man ;  also,  in  the  support  of  schools  and  the  gospel ;  read- 
ing on  the  Sabbath,  in  their  social  meetings,  when  they  had 
no  preacher,  the  prayers  of  the  Episcopal  church,  and  a  ser- 
mon from  the  work  of  some  pious  divine ;  thus  doing  all  in 
his  power  for  the  good  of  his  fellow  men. 

He  was  the  father  of  a  numerous  family ;  five  sons  and 
three  daughters,  viz. :  Israel,  Aaron  Waldo,  David,  William 
Pitt,  and  George  Washington.  These  all  settled  in  Ohio, 
and  three  of  them  as  farmers.  William  Pitt  Putnam  was  a 
physician,  and  came  to  Marietta  in  1792,  in  the  midst  of  the 
war,  and  practiced  medicine.  David  Putnam  also  settled  in 
Marietta,  in  1798,  as  a  lawyer,  and  is  now  the  only  survivor. 
The  daughters  married  as  follows :  Sarah  to  Samuel  Thor- 
nily,  Mary  to  Daniel  Mayo,  and  Elizabeth  to  Joel  Craig;  the 
two  latter  settled  in  Newport,  Ky.,  opposite  to  Cincinnati, 
where  their  descendants  now  live. 

Col.  Putnam  was  a  man  of  sound,  vigorous  mind,  and  re- 
markable for  his  plain,  common  sense ;  abrupt  and  homely 
in  his  manners  and  address,  but  perfectly  honest  and  up- 
right in  his  intercourse  with  mankind.  He  was  a  strict 
utilitarian ;  esteeming  the  useful  much  more  highly  than  the 
ornamental.  In  his  life  he  practiced  all  the  Christian  vir- 
tues, and  died  in  the  full  hope  of  a  blessed  immortality. 


MAJ.    NATllAN    GOODALE 

Maj.  Nathan  Goodale  was  born  in  Brookfield,  Mass.,  about 
the  year  1743.  His  father  died  when  he  was  quite  young, 
and  his  mother  married  a  Mr.  Ware,  of  Rutland,  where  he 
was  removed  to  his  new  home,  and  passed  his  early  years, 
to  the  time  of  manhood,  on  a  farm,  and  in  learning  the  trade 
of  a  bricklayer;  thus  laying  the  foundation  for  that  vigorous, 
muscular  frame,  which  enabled  him  to  undergo  the  fatigues 
and  exposures  of  a  military  life,  at  a  time  when  the  army 
afforded  few  facilities  for  the  comfort  of  the  soldier.  No 
other  set  of  men  could  have  borne  up  under  the  trials  of 
want,  famine,  and  a  lack  of  all  the  common  necessaries  of 
life,  for  several  years  in  succession,  as  did  the  American 
soldiers,  but  such  as  had  been  inured  like  the  Spartans,  in 
childhood,  to  bear  suffering  with  patience.  His  education 
was  rather  above  that  of  the  common  schools  of  that  day, 
for  we  find  him,  at  an  early  period  of  the  war,  employed  by 
Gen.  Putnam  as  an  assistant  engineer. 

At  a  suitable  age  he  married  Elizabeth  Phelps,  of  Rut- 
land, on  the  11th  of  September,  1765.  About  the  year  1770 
he  moved  his  family  to  Brookfield,  where  he  purchased  a 
farm  two  miles  from  the  center  of  the  town.  His  three  old- 
est children  were  born  in  Rutland,  as  we  learn  from  the 
town  records. 

From  this  time  to  the  rupture  with  the  mother  country,  in 
l??f>,  he  continued  to  labor  on  his  farm,  and  to  work  at  his 
trade  of  bricklaying;  but  as  nearly  all  the  houses  of  that 
clay  were  made  of  wood,  his  mechanical  work  was  chiefly 
confined  to  chimneys.  For  some  time  previous  to  the  first 
hostilities,  he  had,  with  thousands  of  his  countrymen,  been 


NATHAN    GOODALE.  359 

preparing  for  the  day  of  strife,  which  every  thinking  man 
foresaw  must  soon  arrive,  by  practicing  military  exercises, 
and  collecting  arms  and  ammunition.  Many  of  these  vol- 
unteer companies  were  aptly  called,  by  the  New  England- 
ers,  who  are  never  at  a  loss  for  a  phrase  to  express  exactly 
their  meaning,  <(  Minute  men."  They  were,  indeed,  minute 
men,  and  when  the  first  notice  of  alarm  echoed  from  hill  to 
hill,  all  over  the  country,  at  the  bloodshed  at  Lexington, 
they  were  ready,  at  a  moment's  warning,  to  pour  their  thou- 
sands on  thousands  into  the  vicinity  of  Boston,  the  strong- 
hold of  the  British,  which  nothing  but  the  lack  of  battering 
cannon  and  ammunition  hindered  them  immediately  from 
storming.  Mr.  Goodale  here  first  saw  the  actual  movements 
of  military  life,  and  immediately  entered  into  the  service  of 
his  country,  as  a  lieutenant.  It  being  uncertain  how  long 
he  might  remain  in  the  army,  the  homestead  of  his  early 
manhood  was  sold,  and  his  family  resided,  during  the  war, 
in  rented  premises.  With  what  spirit  and  enterprise  he  en- 
tered into  the  service,  and  how  well  Ins  activity  and  talents 
were  adapted  to  the  trying  exigencies  of  a  partisan  officer, 
the  most  difficult  of  all  military  duties,  will  be  best  shown 
by  a  letter  from  Gen.  Rufus  Putnam  to  Gen.  Washington. 
near  the  close  of  the  war : 

"Massachusetts  Huts,  June  9th,  1783. 
Sir  :  I  do  myself  the  honor  to  inclose  a  letter  I  received  a 
few  days  since  from  Capt.  Goodale,  of  the  fifth  Massachu- 
setts regiment.  I  confess  I  feel  a  conviction  of  neglect  of 
duty  in  respect  to  this  gentleman ;  that  I  have  not,  till  this 
moment,  taken  any  measures  to  bring  his  services  to  public 
view,  has  been  owing  to  the  confidence  I  had,  that  Gen. 
Gates  would  have  done  it,  as  the  most  extraordinary  of  them 
were  performed  under  his  own  orders,  and  as  he  gave  re- 
peated assurances  that  they  should  not  be  forgotten .     I  am 


360  NATHAN    GOODALE. 

sorry  that  Gen.  Gates  is  now  out  of  camp,  for  were  he  not, 
I  should  appeal  to  him  on  the  subject,  but  as  I  am  sure  so 
worthy  a  character,  and  such  important  services,  ought  not 
to  be  buried  in  oblivion,  or  pass  unrewarded,  I  beg  your 
excellency's  patience  a  few  moments,  while  I  give  a  short 
detail  of  them.     Capt.  Goodale  was  among  the  first  who 
embarked  in  the  common  cause  in  1775.     He  served  that 
year  as  a  lieutenant  in  the  same  regiment  with  me.     I  had 
long  before  known  him  to  be  a  man  of  spirit,  and  his  probity 
and  attention  to  service  soon  gained  him  the  character  of  a 
worthy  officer.     In  1776,  he  entered  again  as  a  lieutenant, 
but  served  with  me  the  most  of  the  year  as  an  assistant 
engineer,  and  the  public  are  much  indebted  to  him  for  the 
dispatch  and  propriety  with  which  several  of  the  works  about 
New  York  were  executed.     In  the  dark  month  of  November, 
1776,  Mr.  Goodale  entered  the  service  as  a  captain  in  the 
regiment  under  my  command,  and  was  in  the  field  early  the 
next  spring ;  but,  although  he  always  discovered  a  thirst  for 
enterprise,  yet  fortune  never  gave  his  genius  fair  play  till 
August,  1777.     It  is  well   known  into  what  a  panic  the 
country,  and  even  the  northern  army,  were  thrown  on  the 
taking  of  Ticonderoga.     "When  Gen.  Gates  took  command 
in  that  quarter,  our  army  lay  at  Van  Shaick's  island ;  and 
Mr.  Burgoyne,  with  his  black  wings  and  painted  legions,  lay 
at  Saratoga.     The  woods  were  so  infested  with  savages,  that 
for  sometime  none  of  the  scouts  who  were  sent  out  for  the 
purpose  of  obtaining  prisoners  or  intelligence  of  the  enemy's 
situation,  succeeded  in  cither.     Gen.  Gates  being  vexed  at 
continual  disappointments,  desired  an  officer  to  procure  him 
a  man  that  would  undertake,  at  all  hazards,  to  perform  this 
service.     Capt.  Goodale  being  spoken  to,  voluntarily  under- 
took the  business  under  the  following  orders  from  Gen. 
Gates.      'Sir:  You  are  to  choose  out  a  sergeant  and  six 


NATHAN    GOODALE.  361 

privates,  and  proceed  with  them  to  the  enemy's  camp,  unless 
you  lose  your  life  or  are  captured,  and  not  return  until  you 
obtain  a  full  knowledge  of  their  situation.' 

Capt.  Goodale,  in  his  report  of  this  scout,  says  it  was  not 
performed  without  great  fatigue,  as  the  party  was  much 
harassed  by  the  Indians,  which  occasioned  their  being  in  the 
woods  three  days  without  provisions.  However,  he  suc- 
ceeded beyond  expectation;  first  throwing  himself  between 
then-  out-guards  and  their  camp,  where  he  concealed  his 
party  until  he  examined  their  situation  very  fully,  and  then 
brought  off  six  prisoners,  which  he  took  within  their  guards, 
and  returned  to  Gen.  Gates  without  any  loss.  This  success 
induced  Gen.  Gates  to  continue  him  on  that  kind  of  service. 
A  full  detail  of  all  the  art  and  address  which  he  discovered 
during  the  remainder  of  that  campaign,  would  make  my 
letter  quite  too  long.  It  may  be  enough  to  observe  that 
before  the  capture  of  the  British  army,  one  hundred  and 
twenty-one  prisoners  fell  into  his  hands.  But  as  Capt. 
Goodale  is  no  less  brave  and  determined  in  the  open  field, 
where  opposed  to  regular  troops,  than  he  is  artful  as  a 
partizan  of  the  woods,  I  beg  your  patience  while  I  recite 
one  instance  of  this  kind.  A  day  or  two  after  Mr.  Burgoyne 
retreated  to  Saratoga,  in  a  foggy  morning,  Nixon's  brigade 
was  ordered  to  cross  the  creek  which  separated  the  two 
armies.  Capt.  Goodale,  with  forty  volunteers,  went  over 
before  the  advance  guard.  He  soon  fell  in  with  a  British 
guard  of  about  the  same  number.  The  ground  was  an 
open  plain,  but  the  fog  prevented  their  discovering  each 
other  till  they  were  within  a  few  yards,  when  both  parties 
made  ready  nearly  at  the  same  time.  Capt.  Goodale,  in 
this  position  reserving  his  fire,  advanced  immediately  upon 
the  enemy,  who  waited  with  a  design  to  draw  it  from  him; 
but  he  had  the  address  to  intimidate  them  in  such  a  manner, 
by  threatening  immediate  death  to  any  one  that  should  fire, 


362  NATHAN    GOODALE. 

that  not  more  than  two  or  three  obeyed  the  order  of  their 
own  officer,  when  he  gave  the  word.  The  event  was.  that 
the  officer  and  thirty-four  of  the  guard  were  made  prisoners. 
These,  sir,  are  the  services  which  Capt.  Goodale  and  his 
friends  conceive  have  merited  more  attention  than  has  been 
paid  to  them;  and,  at  least,  merit  a  majority  as  much  as 
Maj.  Summers'  unsuccessful  command  of  a  boat  a  few 
months  on  Lake  Champlain.  But  if  the  tables  are  reversed, 
and  the  ill  luck  of  a  brave  man  should  be  the  only  recom- 
mendation to  promotion,  Capt.  Goodale,  I  believe,  has  as 
great  pretensions  as  most  men,  for  he  is  the  unfortunate 
officer  who  commanded  about  forty  white  men,  and  being 
joined  by  about  the  same  number  of  Indians,  fought  more 
than  one  thousand  of  the  enemy  below  Valentine's  hill  in 
1778,  until  near  two-thirds  were  killed,  himself  and  most  of 
the  rest  made  prisoners.  But  I  mention  this  not  so  much 
to  show  his  bravery,  for  he  takes  no  merit  from  that  action, 
but  always  lamented  the  necessity  he  was  under  from  the 
orders  he  received,  to  do  what  he  did.  In  writing  to  me  on 
the  subject,  he  says :  'At  this  time  a  number  of  brave  men 
were  sacrificed  to  bad  orders;  but,  as  they  were  not  my 
orders,  I  hope  the  candid  will  not  censure  me.'  Having 
stated  these  facts,  I  beg  leave  to  request  your  excellency 
will  lay  them  before  Congress,  &c.  He  goes  on  to  say, 
Gen.  Washington  forwarded  my  letter  to  the  secretary  of 
war;  but  as  about  this  time  Congress  came  to  a  resolution 
to  raise  the  rank  of  all  officers  one  grade  who  had  not  been 
promoted  since  their  entrance  into  service,  the  1st  of  January, 
1777,  Maj.  Goodale  received  promotion  with  the  rest,  and 
thus  never  had  that  justice  done  him  which  he  so  highly 
merited." 

Thus  far  Gen.  Putnam  testifies  to  the  valuable  services 
of  this  brave  and  noble-minded  man.  Had  Gen.  Gates,  as 
in  duty  bound,  given  notice  to  Congress  of  the  heroic  exploits 


NATHAN    GOODALE.  363 

of  Capt.  Goodale,  in  collecting  information  of  the  move- 
ments of  Burgoyne,  so  essential  to  the  welfare  of  the  Ameri- 
can army,  he  would  no  doubt  have  received  the  promotion 
so  justly  his  due.  But  Gates  was  a  selfish,  proud  man,  who 
cared  little  for  the  interest  of  others,  provided  his  own  per- 
sonal wishes  were  accomplished. 

From  another  hand  a  more  detailed  account  is  given  of 
the  action  at  Valentine's  hill.  It  seems  that  the  commander 
of  the  troops  to  which  he  was  attached,  had  ordered  him  to 
keep  possession  of  a  certain  pass,  important  to  the  Ameri- 
cans, at  all  hazards,  without  any  discretionary  power  as  to 
contingencies.  His  command  consisted,  as  above-stated,  of 
about  forty  light-infantry  and  a  number  of  Indians,  who 
stood  the  attack  of  a  large  body  of  the  enemy  and  a  com- 
pany of  cavalry,  until  there  were  only  seventeen  men  left 
alive  out  of  the  forty.  Near  the  close  of  the  combat,  the 
officer  who  led  the  charge  rushed  upon  him  with  his  sword. 
Capt.  Goodale,  with  a  loaded  musket  which  he  had  probably 
picked  up  from  one  of  his  fallen  men,  shot  the  Briton  dead 
from  his  horse  as  he  approached.  In  a  moment,  another 
of  the  enemy,  seeing  the  fall  of  his  leader,  sprung  at  him  in 
desperation,  with  full  purpose  to  revenge  his  death.  The 
musket  being  discharged,  the  only  resource  was  to  parry  the 
descending  blow,  aimed  at  his  head,  in  the  best  manner  he 
could,  with  the  empty  piece.  It  fell  obliquely,  being  turned 
a  little  from  its  course  by  the  musket,  and  instead  of  splitting 
the  skull  of  its  intended  victim,  glanced  on  the  bone,  peeling 
up  a  portion  of  the  scalp  several  inches  in  length.  The 
stunning  effects  of  the  blow  felled  him  to  the  earth,  but  di- 
rectly recovering,  he  rose  to  his  feet.  In  the  meantime,  the 
cavalry  man,  who  had  leaned  forward  in  the  saddle  further 
than  prudent  to  give  a  certain  death-stroke,  lost  his  balance, 
when  the  heavy  sword  glanced  from  the  skull  and  fell  to  the 
earth.     The  bayonet  of  Capt.  Goodale  instantly  pinned  him 


364  NATHAN    GOODALE. 

to  the  ground,  and  left  him  dead  by  the  side  of  his  leader. 
Thus  two  of  the  enemy  fell  by  his  hand  in  a  space  of  time 
less  than  a  minute.  Seeing  all  prospect  of  further  resistance 
useless,  he  retreated  with  the  balance  of  his  men  to  an  open 
woodland,  near  the  scene  of  action,  and  secreted  himself 
under  a  pile  of  brush.  An  Indian  had  hidden  under  another 
heap,  where  they  might  have  remained  in  safety  until  dark 
and  then  escaped ;  but  the  savage  having  an  opportunity  to 
shoot  one  of  the  enemy  who  approached  their  hiding-place, 
he  could  not  resist  the  chance  of  adding  another  scalp  to 
his  trophies,  and  shot  him.  The  report  of  the  shot  revealed 
their  hiding-place,  and  being  discovered,  were  made  pris- 
oners. How  long  he  remained  in  durance  does  not  appear 
from  the  imperfect  memorials  left  of  his  military  life.  It  is 
probable  he  was  shut  up  in  the  old  Jersey  prison-ship  at 
New  York,  as  his  children  have  a  tradition  that  he  was 
poisoned,  from  the  fact  of  a  long  sickness  he  suffered  after 
his  return  home.  But  it  is  more  probable  that  the  poison 
was  that  of  human  malaria,  received  in  that  pest-house  of 
British  cruelty,  which  killed  more  Americans  than  all  those 
who  fell  in  battle  during  the  whole  war,  being  estimated  at 
twelve  or  fourteen  thousand.  It  is  one  of  the  foulest  stains 
on  the  English  nation,  that  ever  disgraced  their  character. 

During  the  war  he  received  one  other  wound  in  the  leg, 
from  a  musket  or  grape  shot.  Could  all  his  adventures  be 
collected  they  would  make  one  of  the  most  interesting  of 
biographies;  but  time,  and  a  fire  which  destroyed  his  papers 
at  Belpre  some  years  after  his  death,  have  put  this  matter 
to  rest,  and  these  scanty  gleanings  are  all  that  are  left  of 
his  military  life. 

At  the  close  of  the  war  he  entered  into  mercantile  busi- 
ness, in  company  with  Col.  Cushing,  a  brother  officer.  Xot 
succeeding  in  this  to  his  expectations,  he  sold  out,  and 
bought  a  farm  on  Coit's  hill,  in  the  north  part  of  the  town 


NATHAN    GOODALE.  365 

of  Brookfield.     In  the  pursuits   of  agriculture  he  was   as 
much  at  home  as  in  military  matters,  having  a  natural  taste 
for  cultivation,  and   engaged  in  this  primitive  employment 
with  his  characteristic  ardor  and  perseverance,  at  a  time 
when  improvements  of  all  kinds  were  at  a  low  ebb;  the 
country  during  the  war  having  retrograded,  amidst  the  trials 
of  that  eventful  period.     Mr.  Goodale  was  remarkable  for 
his  industry,  and  thorough,  neat  manner  in  which  he  con- 
ducted all  the  operations  of  the  farm.     The  forecast  and 
wisdom  of  the  man  may  be  seen  before  setting  out  on  his 
journey  to  Ohio,  in  the  course  he  pursued  in  preparing  for 
it.     Knowing  that  a  superior  breed  of  neat  cattle  is  all-im- 
portant to  the  farmer,  and  more  especially  to  one  beginning 
in  a  new  country,  instead  of  taking  a  team  of  oxen,  or 
horses,  as  all  other  men  did,  to  haul  their  wagons,  he,  after 
deciding  on  joining  the  new  colony,  selected  three  of  the 
best  cows  and  one  of  the  finest  bulls  to  be  found  in  that  vi- 
cinity, and  trained  them  to  work  together  in  a  team.     With 
this  novel  working  power,  he  drew  on  the  wagon,  with  a 
part  of  his  family  and  household  goods,  to  Marietta,  per- 
forming the  journey  with  as  much  ease,  and  in  as  short  a 
time,  as  the  best  of  oxen.     He  had  also  the  profit  of  their 
milk  for  the  use  of  the  family  along  the  road.     The  stock 
from  this  breed   of  cattle  has  been  spread  through  the 
county,  and  is  held  in  high  estimation  at  this  day,  for  their 
perfect  forms,  gentle  dispositions,  and  great  abundance  of 
rich  milk;  constituting  them,  on  all  accounts,  the  best  dairy 
stock  ever  introduced  to  the  country.     They  are  known  as 
the  "  Goodale  breed,"  still  retaining  many  of  their  original 
characteristics. 

Maj.  Goodale  arrived  at  the  mouth  of  the  Muskingum  on 
the  2d  of  July,  1788,  in  company  with  several  other  families 
from  Massachusetts,  descending  the  Ohio,  from  Wheeling, 
in  a  flatboat.     In  August  he  was  appointed,  by  Gov.  St. 


366  NATHAN    GOODALE. 

Clair,  who  soon  organized  the  militia,  captain  of  a  company 
of  light-infantry,  selected  from  amongst  the  most  active  men 
of  the  colony.  This  company  held  regular  musters,  until 
the  commencement  of  the  war,  when  each  man  was  con- 
fined to  the  defense  of  his  own  garrison,  in  the  settlement 
where  he  lived.  His  experience  in  military  affairs  rendered 
him  a  very  able  and  efficient  officer,  familiar  with  all  the 
details  of  actual  service. 

In  April,  1789,  he  moved  his  family  to  Belpre,  being  a 
leading  associate  of  the  colony.  During  the  short  period 
he  was  permitted  to  live  in  that  place,  he  was  considered  to 
be  one  of  the  most  industrious,  persevering,  and  thoroughly 
educated  farmers  in  the  county;  clearing  his  land  in  the 
most  rapid  manner,  fencing  and  cultivating  it  in  the  best 
style.  In  the  famine  of  1790  his  family  suffered,  with  the  rest 
of  their  neighbors,  for  wholesome  bread-stuff.  When  the  war 
broke  out  in  1791,  he  was  one  of  the  most  active  and  reso- 
lute men  in  planning  and  erecting  the  fortified  village  called 
Farmers'  castle,  in  which  they  all  resided  during  the  first 
two  years  of  the  war.  In  making  the  arrangements  for  the 
defense  and  military  government  of  the  garrison,  he  was  the 
leading  man;  and  the  command  was,  by  unanimous  con- 
sent, given  to  him,  as  the  most  experienced  in  warlike  mat- 
ters. In  the  winter  of  1793  the  place  had  become  too  strait 
for  the  numerous  families  congregated  within  its  walls,  and 
it  was  decided  to  erect  two  additional  stockades ;  one  a  mile 
and  a  half  below,  on  Maj.  Goodale's  farm,  and  one  on  Capt. 
Stone's  land,  just  below  the  mouth  of  the  Little  Kenawha, 
called  the  "Upper  settlement." 

He  had  been  but  a  week  in  his  new  garrison,  when  the 
colony  met  with  the  most  serious  loss  it  had  yet  sustained 
from  their  Indian  enemies,  in  the  captivity  and  death  of 
Maj.  Goodale.  On  the  first  day  of  March,  1793,  he  was  at 
work  in  a  clearing  on  his  farm,  distant  about  forty  or  fifty 


NATHAN    GOODALE.  367 

rods  from  the  garrison,  hauling  rail  timber  with  a  yoke  of 
oxen.  It  lay  back  of  the  first  bottom,  on  the  edge  of  the 
plain,  in  open  view  of  the  station.  An  Irishman,  named 
lohn  Magee,  was  at  work,  grubbing  or  digging  out  the  roots 
of  the  bushes  and  small  trees,  on  the  slope  of  the  plain,  as 
it  descends  on  to  the  bottom,  but  out  of  sight  of  Maj.  Good- 
ale.  The  Indians  made  so  little  noise  in  their  assault,  that 
John  did  not  hear  them.  The  first  notice  of  this  disaster, 
was  the  view  of  the  oxen  seen  from  the  garrison,  standing 
quietly  in  the  field,  with  no  one  near  them.  After  an  hour 
or  more  they  were  observed  to  be  still  in  the  same  place, 
when  suspicion  arose  that  some  disaster  had  happened  to 
Mr.  Goodale.  John  was  still  busy  at  his  work,  unconscious 
of  any  alarm,  when  one  of  the  men  sent  up  from  the  gar- 
rison, passed  him  to  inquire  what  was  the  matter.  In  the 
edge  of  the  woods  there  was  a  thin  layer  of  snow,  on  which 
the  messenger  discovered  several  moccasin  tracks.  It  was 
now  apparent  that  Indians  had  been  there,  and  taken  him 
prisoner,  as  no  blood  was  seen  on  the  ground.  A  small 
party  followed  the  trail  some  distance,  but  soon  lost  it.  The 
following  day  a  larger  body  of  men,  with  some  of  the  rang- 
ers, were  sent  in  pursuit,  but  returned  without  making  any 
discovery.  The  Ohio  river  at  this  time,  with  many  of  the 
smaller  streams,  was  at  nearly  full  banks,  and  less  dan- 
ger was  apprehended  on  that  account;  it  was  also  rather 
early  in  the  season  for  Indians  to  approach  the  settlements. 
The  uncertainty  of  his  condition  left  room  for  the  imagina- 
tion to  fancy  every  thing  horrible  in  his  fate ;  more  terrible 
to  bear,  than  the  actual  knowledge  of  his  death. 

Great  was  the  distress  of  Mrs.  Goodale  and  the  children, 
overwhelmed  with  this  unexpected  calamity.  His  loss  threw 
a  deep  gloom  over  the  whole  community,  as  no  man  was 
so  highly  valued  amongst  them,  neither  was  there  any  one 
whose  council  and  influence  were  equally  prized  by  the 


368  NATHAN     GOODALE. 

settlement.  He  was,  in  fact,  the  life  and  soul  of  this  isolated 
community,  and  left  a  vacancy  that  none  of  his  companions 
could  fill.  One  of  the  early  colonists  thus  speaks  of  him: 
"  His  memory  was  for  many  years  fresh  and  green  in  the 
hearts  of  his  cotemporary  pioneers,  now  all  passed  away,  and 
is  still  cherished  with  respect  and  affection  by  their  descend- 
ants." (Judge  Barker's  notes.)  So  greatly  depressed  were 
the  inhabitants  at  his  loss,  that  they  awoke  with  new  feel- 
ings in  regard  to  their  dangerous  position  on  the  outer  verge 
of  civilization.  While  he  was  living  amongst  them  a  cer- 
tain degree  of  safety  was  felt,  that  vanished  at  his  loss. 

On  the  14th  of  March  they  forwarded  a  petition  to  Gen. 
Washington,  whom  they  regarded  with  parental  veneration, 
a  copy  of  which  has  been  preserved,  setting  forth  their  ex- 
posed situation  and  losses  by  the  Indians.  It  is  stated  that 
six  of  their  number  have  been  killed,  besides  the  recent  loss 
of  Maj.  Goodale ;  that  one-third  of  their  cattle,  and  produce 
of  their  lands,  had  been  destroyed  by  the  Indians,  and  they 
were  fearful  of  a  total  breaking  up  of  the  settlement,  unless 
the  government  afforded  them  a  larger  number  of  men  for 
protection,  their  usual  United  States  guard  being  only  a 
corporal  and  four  privates,  detailed  from  the  post  at  Mari- 
etta. The  number  of  the  settlers  at  the  three  stations  were 
fifty-two  men,  and  one  hundred  and  forty-nine  women  and 
children. 

At  the  treaty  of  Greenville,  in  1795,  when  the  captives 
were  given  up  by  the  Indians,  some  intelligence  was  ob- 
tained of  nearly  all  the  persons  taken  prisoners  from  this 
part  of  the  territory,  but  none  of  the  fate  of  Maj.  Goodale. 
A  deep  mystery  seemed  to  hang  over  his  destiny,  never  to 
be  revealed.  At  length,  about  the  year  1799,  Col.  Forrest 
Meeker,  since  a  citizen  of  Delaware  county,  Ohio,  and  well 
acquainted  with  the  family  of  Maj.  Goodale,  and  the  cir- 
cumstances of  this  event,  when  at  Detroit,  fell  in  company 


NATHAN    GOODALE.  369 

with  three  Indians,  who  related  to  him  the  particulars  of 
their  taking  a  man  prisoner  at  Belpre,  in  the  spring  of  1793. 
Their  description  of  his  person  left  no  doubt  on  the  mind  of 
Col.  Meeker,  of  its  being  Maj.  Goodale.  They  stated  that 
a  party  of  eight  Indians  were  watching  the  settlement  for 
mischief;  and  as  they  lay  concealed  on  the  side  of  the  hill 
back  of  the  plain,  they  heard  a  man  driving,  or  talking  to 
his  oxen,  as  they  expressed  it.  After  carefully  examining 
his  movements,  they  saw  him  leave  his  work  and  go  down 
to  the  garrison,  in  the  middle  of  the  day.  Knowing  that  he 
would  return  soon,  they  secreted  themselves  in  the  edge  of 
the  woods,  and  while  he  was  occupied  with  his  work,  sprang 
out  and  seized  upon  him,  before  he  was  aware  of  their 
presence,  or  could  make  any  defense,  threatening  him  with 
death  if  he  made  a  noise  or  resisted.  After  securing  him 
with  thongs,  they  commenced  a  hasty  retreat,  intending  to 
take  him  to  Detroit  and  get  a  large  ransom  for  him.  Some- 
where on  the  Miami,  or  at  Sandusky,  he  fell  sick  and  could 
not  travel,  and  that  he  finally  died  of  this  sickness.  A  Mrs. 
Whitaker,  the  wife  of  an  Indian  trader  at  Lower  Sandusky, 
has  since  related  the  same  fact.  She  says  the  Indians  left 
him  at  her  house,  where  he  died  of  a  disease  like  the  pleu- 
risy, without  having  received  any  very  ill  usage  from  his 
captors,  other  than  the  means  necessary  to  prevent  his 
escape.  This  is  probably  a  correct  account  of  his  fate ; 
and  although  his  death  was  a  melancholy  one,  amongst 
strangers,  in  captivity,  and  far  away  from  the  sympathy  and 
care  of  his  friends,  yet  it  is  a  relief  to  know  that  he  did  not 

perish  at  the  stake,  nor  by  the  tomahawk  of  the  savages. 
24 


MAJ.    ROBERT    BRADFORD. 

Maj.  Robert  Bradford  was  born  in  old  Plymouth,  Mass., 
in  the  year  1750.  He  was  a  lineal  descendant  of  Gov. 
Bradford,  of  about  the  fifth  remove.  His  wife  was  Kezia 
Little,  the  daughter  of  Capt.  Nathaniel  Little,  of  Kingston, 
Plymouth  county. 

He  entered  early,  and  with  all  his  heart,  into  the  service 
of  his  country  during  the  Revolutionary  war,  and  for  the 
larger  portion  of  that  period  commanded  a  company  of 
light-infantry.  His  military  life  commenced  at  the  battle 
of  Bunker  hill,  and  ended  with  the  capture  of  Cornwallis  at 
Yorktown,  being  actually  engaged  in  nearly  all  the  pitched 
battles  fought  in  the  eastern  and  middle  states.  With  many- 
others  of  the  American  officers,  he  received  the  gift  of  an 
elegant  sword,  from  the  Marquis  Lafayette,  as  a  mark  of 
his  esteem,  which  yet  remains  in  the  hands  of  his  only  sur- 
viving son,  O.  L.  Bradford,  of  Wood  county,  Va.  He  also 
has  in  his  possession,  as  family  relics,  some  of  the  old  fur- 
niture that  came  over  in  the  May-flower.  Amongst  them 
was  a  pair  of  hand-irons,  one  only  now  being  preserved; 
the  other  was  destroyed  accidentally  a  few  years  since. 
Being  of  an  ardent  temperament,  and  ambitious  to  excel  in 
military  exercises,  and  to  do  his  whole  duty,  Lafayette  one 
day  witnessed  the  exactness  of  the  evolutions  of  his  com- 
pany, and  spoke  in  the  warmest  terms  of  their  merits. 
When  he  was  in  Marietta,  in  the  year  1820,  he  inquired 
particularly  after  Maj.  Bradford;  and  when  told  that  he  was 
dead,  he  expressed  his  regret  with  much  feeling.  The  lapse 
of  more  than  forty  years  had  consigned  the  larger  portion 


EOBERT    BRADFORD.  371 

of  his  old  comrades  to  their  graves,  and  his  inquiries  after 
his  Revolutionary  associates,  were  often  answered  with  that 
short  and  melancholy  phrase,  "He  is  dead!" 

At  the  close  of  the  war  he  received  an  honorable  dis- 
charge, and  the  brevet  rank  of  major.  With  others  of  his 
brother  officers,  he  suffered  great  loss  by  the  depreciation 
of  the  United  States  securities,  and  the  worthlessness  of  the 
paper  currency,  in  which  his  long  and  arduous  services  were 
paid.  But  the  main  object  of  his  taking  up  arms  was  se- 
cured, the  liberty  of  his  country,  which  he  lived  to  enjoy 
for  many  years. 

When  the  Ohio  Company  was  formed,  he  became  an  as- 
sociate, and  moved  his  family  to  Marietta,  in  the  year  1788. 
In  1789  he  joined  the  band  of  old  officers  who  settled  Bel- 
pre,  where  he  suffered  the  privations  of  famine,  and  the 
dangers  of  the  rifle  and  scalping-knife  of  the  Indians, 
having  several  narrow  escapes  from  these  wily  sons  of  the 
forest.  During  the  prevalence  of  the  putrid  sore  throat  in 
1792,  he  suffered  a  greater  loss  of  children  than  any  other 
family.  Out  of  four  or  five,  all  died  but  one,  with  that 
disease. 

In  1794,  during  the  Indian  war,  he  went  out  into  the  Indian 
country,  about  eighty  miles  from  the  settlements,  in  com- 
pany with  Griffin  Greene,  and  others,  to  discover  the  site 
of  the  Scioto  Salt  Springs,  of  which  vague  rumors  had 
been  heard  from  the  reports  of  white  prisoners.  After  sev- 
eral days'  search,  they  were  found  by  following  the  Indian 
and  buffalo  paths  which  led  to  them,  and  by  long  use  had 
been  worn  to  a  depth  of  more  than  a  foot,  for  several  miles 
in  extent.  Another  indication  was  the  remains  of  the  fires, 
where  the  squaws  had  recently  boiled  the  brine  collected 
from  a  cavity  in  the  rock,  cut  with  their  tomahawks,  in  the 
bed  of  the  creek,  and  now  full  of  saline  water.  On  their 
return,  they  narrowly  escaped  pursuit  from  a  large  party  of 


372  A.     W.     PUTNAM. 

Indians,  who  came  in  sight  on  the  bank  of  the  river,  a  few 
minutes  after  their  boat  had  left  the  shore.  Mr.  Bradford 
and  the  inmates  of  Farmers'  castle  never  expected  to  see 
them  again  amongst  the  living. 

He  died  in  the  year  1823,  during  the  period  of  the  great 
epidemic  fever,  which  removed  a  number  of  the  old  soldiers, 
aged  seventy-two  years. 

Maj.  Bradford  was  a  man  of  a  warm  heart,  cheerful,  lively 
temperament,  and  sound  judgment.  He  ranked  with  the 
most  worthy  cultivators  of  the  soil  in  the  settlement.  In 
person  he  was  rather  tall,  erect,  and  active ;  strongly  marked 
and  bold  features,  indicative  of  courage  and  resolution; 
with  the  bearing  of  a  soldier.  He  was  a  man  whose  virtues 
and  name  are  worthy  of  preservation,  amongst  the  defend- 
ers of  an  infant  colony,  and  the  pioneers  of  the  valley  of 
the  Ohio. 


AARON    WALDO    PUTNAM. 

Aaron  Waldo  Putnam,  the  second  son  of  Col.  Israel  Put- 
nam, was  born  in  Pomfret,  Conn.,  the  18th  of  April,  A.  D. 
1767. 

During  his  boyhood  and  youth  he  assisted  his  father  in 
cultivating  the  farm ;  the  larger  portion  of  that  name  being 
tillers  of  the  earth.  In  the  summer  of  1788,  when  he  was 
twenty-one  years  old,  he  accompanied  his  father  on  his  long 
and  tedious  journey  to  Marietta,  where  the  Ohio  Company 
had  just  commenced  a  settlement.  Col.  Putnam  did  not, 
at  this  time,  move  his  family,  taking  only  a  few  household 


A.  W.    PUTNAM.  373 

goods,  with  agricultural  implements  and  mechanical  tools, 
the  heavy  load  being  transported  by  a  team  of  two  yoke  of 
oxen,  this  patient  but  steady  animal  being  well  suited  to  the 
difficult  passes  of  the  mountains,  and  when  at  the  journey's 
end  less  likely  to  be  stolen  by  the  Indians  than  horses. 

In  crossing  the  North  river,  at  Fishkill,  a  serious  accident 
happened,  which  served  to  display  the  coolness  and  pres- 
ence of  mind  of  the  Putnam  race,  in  cases  of  unexpected 
danger.  The  oxen  were  crossed  in  a  flatboat,  separate  from 
the  w^agon,  under  the  care  of  young  Waldo.  The  river  is 
here  a  mile  wide,  or  more.  A  sudden  gale  of  wind  raised 
such  a  sea,  that  the  boat  filled  and  began  to  sink.  In  this 
extremity,  seeing  that  the  oxen  must  leave  the  boat,  he  un- 
yoked them,  that  they  might  swim  more  freely,  putting  the 
iron  pins  of  the  bows  carefully  into  his  pocket.  Being  un- 
able to  swim  himself,  he  selected  one  of  the  most  active  of 
the  oxen,  and  seizing  him  by  the  tail  with  one  hand,  and 
brandishing  the  whip  with  the  other,  he  directed  him,  with 
his  voice  and  an  occasional  touch  of  the  lash,  to  the  west- 
ern shore,  distant  full  half  a  mile.  The  wind  and  the  tide 
carried  them  down  about  a  hundred  rods  below  the  landing, 
where  they  reached  the  solid  earth  in  safety,  after  a  voyage 
of  more  than  a  mile.  The  other  oxen  having  no  incum- 
brance, made  the  land  higher  up.  Finally  all  were  collected 
without  any  loss  of  yokes,  pins,  or  team. 

The  rest  of  the  journey  to  the  Ohio  was  accomplished 
without  further  accident,  but  with  immense  labor  and  fatigue 
in  crossing  the  mountain  ranges,  by  roads  which,  in  these 
days,  would  be  called  impassable;  but  the  persevering,  bold 
men  of  that  day,  overcame  all  difficulties  but  absolute  im- 
possibilities. The  following  winter  was  passed  in  Campus 
Martius,  and  in  making  preparations  to  begin  the  settle- 
ment in  Belpre,  where  they  moved  the  following  spring. 
Waldo  Putnam's  land  fell  to  him  in  the  Middle  settlement, 


374  A.    W.    PUTNAM. 

where  he  immediately  commenced  clearing  and  putting  up 
a  small  log-cabin.  In  the  fall  of  1790,  his  father,  Col.  Put- 
nam, returned  to  Pomfret  for  his  family.  That  winter  the 
war  began,  and  he  did  not  return  until  after  the  peace. 

In  1791,  the  settlers  had  to  leave  their  houses  and  go  into 
garrison,  which  they  all  united  in  building  for  their  common 
defense.  In  this  Mr.  Putnam  passed  the  time  during  the 
five  years  that  followed,  boarding  in  the  family  of  Judge 
Loring,  and  performing  the  duties  of  a  soldier  in  the  defense 
of  the  castle,  every  able-bodied  man  and  boy  of  sixteen 
years  being  enrolled.  During  this  period  he  became  ac- 
quainted with  Miss  Bathsheba  Loring  and  was  united  to  her 
in  marriage  amidst  the  dangers  and  perils  of  the  savages 
who  constantly  watched  the  garrison  for  prey.  In  the  spring 
of  the  year  1791,  for  the  better  security  of  their  cattle  from 
the  Indians,  the  settlers  ferried  a  part  of  them  across  the 
Ohio  into  Virginia,  above  the  head  of  the  island,  where  they 
roamed  in  safety. 

On  one  of  these  occasions  Mr.  Putnam  was  in  a  flatboat 
with  his  negro  boy  Kitt,  who  had  been  brought  up  in  the 
family,  and  two  other  men.  The  cattle  became  alarmed, 
and  running  to  one  end  of  the  flat,  sunk  it.  They  directly 
swam  to  the  shore  without  his  having  an  opportunity  to 
seize  one  by  the  tail,  as  on  North  river,  leaving  him  and  the 
others,  as  the  boat  party  rose  to  the  surface,  standing  up  to 
their  breasts  in  the  water.  A  small  canoe  was  sent  out  to 
their  rescue  that  carried  but  two  persons.  The  black  boy 
became  much  alarmed,  as  the  water  was  up  to  his  chin,  and 
was  eager  to*  go  first  to  the  shore,  but  to  this  the  two  whites 
objected.  Between  the  effects  of  the  cold  water  and  fear, 
Kitt's  teeth  chattered  at  a  great  rate,  and  he  must  have 
perished  but  for  the  Btern  rebukes  and  encouragement  of  Mr. 
Putnam,  who  bid  him  rise  on  to  his  toes,  if  the  water  came 
too  near  his  mouth,  and  that  he  must  not  disgrace  the  family 


A.    W.    PUTNAM.  375 

name  by  any  symptoms  of  fear,  although  in  the  greatest 
extremity.  At  the  third  trip,  Kitt,  almost  exhausted,  was 
helped  into  the  canoe  with  great  difficult}-  by  Mr.  Putnam, 
who,  now  that  the  others  had  left  him,  felt  quite  safe,  as  the 
boat  became  more  buoyant.  He  was  finally  relieved,  after 
floating  two  or  three  miles,  without  any  harm  but  the  chilling 
effects  of  the  cold  water;  and  thus,  by  his  calm,  collected 
manner,  were  all  saved,  while  in  similar  circumstances, 
many  timid  men  have  been  drowned. 

Mr.  Putnam's  improvement  lay  about  half  a  mile  below 
the  garrison.  Here  the  stacks  of  grain  and  fodder  for  the 
cattle  were  deposited,  and  every  day  during  the  winter 
months  he  had  to  visit  the  yard  to  feed  them,  and  to  milk 
the  cows.  In  these  trips,  one  or  more  men  usually  went  with 
him  for  the  same  object,  and  for  greater  safety. 

On  one  of  these  occasions,  he  had  just  sat  down  to  milk 
when  Nathaniel  Little,  who  was  with  him  and  on  the  look- 
out, caught  sight  of  an  Indian  in  the  edge  of  the  clearing, 
in  the  attitude  of  firing  at  him.  He  instantly  cried  out 
"  Indians ! "  At  the  alarming  sound,  Mr.  Putnam  sprang  to 
one  side  as  the  gun  cracked,  and  the  ball  struck  the  ground 
a  few  feet  from  him,  passing  across  the  spot  where  he  sat. 
They  instantly  fled  to  the  garrison  and  escaped,  though 
hotly  pursued  by  two  or  three  other  Indians. 

At  the  second  narrow  escape,  the  year  after,  he  was  on 
the  top  of  the  stack,  throwing  down  hay  for  the  cattle.  A 
small  dog  that  they  had  with  them  began  to  growl  and  show 
signs  of  alarm.  At  this  juncture,  in  the  still  calmness  of  a 
frosty  morning,  he  heard  the  well-known  click  of  a  gun 
lock.  Turning  his  head  in  the  direction  of  the  sound,  he 
saw,  at  the  distance  of  forty  or  fifty  yards,  an  Indian  behind 
the  fence,  in  the  act  of  re-cocking  his  gun,  it  having  missed 
fire.  He  instantly  sprang  to  the  ground  and  ran.  The  In- 
dian now  fired,  but  missed  his  mark.     With  a  tremendous 


376  A.    W.    PUTNAM. 

yell,  he  gave  chase,  in  which  two  others  joined  from  the 
edge  of  the  woods,  trying  to  cut  them  off  at  a  ravine  they 
had  to  pass  on  a  log.  The  fleetness  of  the  whites  disap- 
pointed their  hopes,  and  the  log  was  crossed  before  their 
pursuers  reached  it.  A  sally  was  made  from  the  garrison 
on  the  report  of  the  Indian's  rifle,  and  a  gun  fired  at  them 
by  a  spirited  little  fellow  named  Bull ;  on  which  they  re- 
treated back  to  the  fodder-yard,  and  out  of  sheer  spite  at 
their  defeat,  shot  down  a  fine  large  yoke  of  oxen  belonging 
to  Capt.  Benjamin  Miles,  from  Brookfield,  Mass.  These 
cattle  were  the  pride  of  the  settlement,  being  eight  feet  in 
girt,  and  of  proportionate  hight,  vieing  with  the  best  breeds 
of  modern  days. 

Thus  were  the  settlers  in  constant  danger,  and  their  lives 
in  jeopardy,  from  a  skulking,  invisible  foe,  every  time  they 
left  the  walls  of  the  garrison  to  follow  the  labors  of  the 
farm.  In  cultivating  their  crops,  for  the  first  years  of  the 
war,  they  worked  in  common,  on  each  man's  land,  in  parties 
of  thirty  or  forty  men,  well  armed ;  and  in  the  autumn  di- 
vided the  crop  amongst  the  laborers,  in  proportion  to  the 
days'  work  done,  of  which  a  regular  account  was  kept  by  a 
stated  clerk.  Generally,  before  the  laborers  left  the  garri- 
son, the  rangers  made  a  circuit  in  the  woods  adjacent  to  the 
field,  or  scene  of  their  labor  that  day.  With  this  precau- 
tion, it  was  seldom  that  Indians  came  very  near  the  set- 
tlement, without  leaving  some  signs  of  their  approach, 
discoverable  by  the  rangers. 

In  the  spring  of  the  year  1793,  after  the  green  feed  had 
become  good  in  the  forests,  the  oxen  and  cows  of  Mr.  Put- 
nam one  night  failed  to  come  home  as  they  usually  did. 
The  following  morning  he  took  his  gun  and  sallied  out  into 
the  woods  in  search  of  the  absent  animals.  Expecting  to 
find  them  in  the  adjacent  hills,  he  did  not  ask  the  aid  of  any 
one  to   accompany  him.      After   a   little  examination  he 


A  .    "W  .    PUTNAM.  377 

discovered  their  trail,  and  followed  it  that  day  to  Fort  Har- 
mer,  distant  fifteen  miles  from  Farmers'  castle.  Here  he 
ascertained  that  they  had  been  seen  the  evening  before,  and 
passed  the  night.  In  the  morning  he  again  discovered  their 
trail  up  the  Muskingum,  and  followed  it  all  that  day,  alone 
in  the  woods,  not  choosing  to  ask  any  one  to  risk  his  life 
with  him  in  this  dangerous  enterprise.  That  evening  he 
reached  Tyler's  block-house,  at  Waterford,  twenty  miles 
from  Marietta,  where,  to  his  joy,  he  found  the  strayed  ani- 
mals. Here  he  passed  the  second  night,  very  uneasy  at  the 
alarm  and  distress  his  young  wife  and  friends  would  feel  at 
his  long  absence.  In  the  morning  he  took  the  precaution 
of  removing  the  clapper  from  the  bell  of  the  leading  ox, 
whose  noisy  tinkle  might  give  notice  of  his  approach  to  some 
watchful  Indian,  and  commenced  his  return  to  the  castle, 
across  the  country  between  the  waters  of  Wolf  creek  and 
Little  Hocking,  by  an  obscure  trail  frequented  by  the  ran- 
gers, and  reached  home,  eighteen  or  twenty  miles,  just 
before  dark.  His  long  absence,  three  days  and  two  nights, 
had  caused  him  to  be  given  up  as  a  prisoner,  or  killed  by 
the  savages,  his  well  known,  daring  character  rendering  the 
latter  the  most  probable,  and  all  the  agonies  of  reality  were 
suffered  by  his  young  and  lovely  wife,  now  the  mother  of 
one  child,  who,  in  the  last  sleepless  night,  had  time  to  give 
full  scope  to  her  imagination,  and  picture  all  the  cruelties 
practiced  by  the  savages  on  their  foes.  His  return  was  so 
unlooked  for  and  unexpected,  that  he  was  like  one  risen 
again  from  the  dead,  and  all  sorrow  was  turned  into  joy  at 
his  providential  preservation. 

After  numerous  difficulties  and  dangers,  borne  for  five  years 
by  the  stern  pioneers  of  Farmers'  castle,  with  the  greatest 
fortitude  and  equanimity,  peace  was  at  length  established; 
and  in  1796  Mr.  Putnam  was  permitted  to  resume  the  clear- 
ing and  cultivating  his  farm,  unmolested;  a  privilege  which 


378  A.    W.    PUTNAM. 

none  in  these  days  can  understand,  or  fairly  appreciate.  In 
a  few  years  he  had  a  large  plantation  under  fence,  and  di- 
vided into  fields,  several  acres  of  orchard,  composed  of  the 
best  varieties  of  the  fruits  of  the  New  England  and  Middle 
states,  sent  out  in  1795,  by  his  brother  Israel,  who  selected 
them  with  great  care,  and  packed  them  with  bees-wax,  so 
that  few,  if  any  of  the  scions  failed  to  grow.  A  young  man 
named  Waldo,  and  a  relative,  brought  them  over  the  moun- 
tains on  horseback,  in  a  large  pair  of  saddle-bags.  Fruit  trees 
in  the  virgin  soil  of  the  Ohio  bottoms,  grew  with  astonishing 
rapidity,  and  in  six  or  eight  years  were  loaded  with  apples. 
The  peach  often  produced  the  second  year  from  the  pit,  bear- 
ing fruit  of  a  size  and  quality  not  now  seen  in  Ohio.  The 
depredations  of  the  peach  insect,  were  unknown  for  more 
than  twenty  years,  and  the  tree  nourished  and  grew,  undis- 
turbed by  the  yellows  or  any  other  enemy.  Before  temper- 
ance societies  were  known,  large  orchards  of  fifteen  or 
twenty  acres,  were  devoted  to  the  manufacture  of  peach 
brandy,  which  bore  a  liberal  price  on  the  borders  of  the  Mis- 
sissippi, and  was  an  article  of  export.  As  early  as  1802, 
or  1803,  the  log  cabins  of  several  of  the  farmers  at  Belpre, 
were  abandoned,  and  large,  commodious  houses  of  wood  or 
brick,  built  in  their  place.  Mr.  Putnam  was  one  of  the  first 
to  make  improvements  of  this  kind;  and  his  capacious, 
white  house,  surrounded  by  orchards,  on  the  margin  of  the 
plain,  or  second  bottom,  became  a  conspicuous  and  beauti- 
ful object  to  travelers  on  the  "Belle  riviere,"  who  saw  little 
else  but  the  wilderness  and  the  log  huts  of  the  new  settlers, 
from  Pittsburg  to  Cincinnati.  Belpre,  at  this  period,  was 
like  an  oasis  in  the  desert,  the  only  spot  where  the  eye  could 
rest  with  delight.  A  thriving  dairy  was  added  to  his  other 
operations,  composed  of  the  cows  raised  from  his  father's 
famous  Harlem  breed,  and  celebrated  for  their  rich  milk. 
A  numerous  family  of  boys  and  girls  grew  up  around  him, 


A.   W.    PUTNAM.  379 

and  every  thing  prospered  under  his  wise  and  thrifty  admin- 
istration. After  Mr.  Blennerhasset  settled  on  the  island,  he 
became  one  of  his  most  intimate  and  useful  Mends,  giving 
him  much  valuable  information  in  the  management  of  his 
new  and  untried  farming  operations.  The  genteel,  easy 
manners,  and  beautiful  person  of  Mrs.  Putnam  early  at- 
tracted the  attention  of  Madam  Blennerhassett,  and  she 
became  one  of  her  most  intimate  associates,  visiting  each 
other  with  the  familiarity  of  sisters.  When  this  unfortunate 
woman,  after  the  flight  of  her  husband,  in  December,  180G, 
left  the  island  in  the  midst  of  winter,  he  was  the  last  to  visit 
her  in  the  boat,  and  furnished  her  with  many  necessaries,  to 
make  her  voyage  comfortable,  denied  her  by  the  military 
posse  from  Wood  county,  who  had  taken  forcible  possession 
of  her  house. 

Mr.  Putnam  and  his  wife  both  died  in  the  fatal  epidemic 
of  1822,  aged  forty -five  years,  in  the  midst  of  his  usefulness. 

In  person  he  "was  of  a  medium  size,  with  dark,  expressive 
eyes,  and  a  countenance  beaming  with  intelligence  and  kind 
feelings.  For  public  stations  he  had  little  inclination,  the 
highest  post  being  a  major  in  the  militia.  His  delight  was 
centered  in  his  domestic  relations,  and  in  his  farm.  The 
elder  son,  William  Pitt,  born  in  Farmers'  castle,  possesses 
the  homestead.  His  children,  six  of  whom  are  now  living, 
are  settled  at  various  points  in  the  valley  of  the  Mississippi, 
and  rank  with  the  most  reputable  of  its  citizens. 


CAPT.    JONATHAN    STONE. 

Capt.  Jonathan  Stone  was  born  in  New  Braintree,  Mass., 
in  the  year  1751.  He  was  the  son  of  a  soldier,  Francis 
Stone,  who  lost  his  life  in  the  service  of  the  king  during 
the  period  of  the  colonial  vassalage,  while  serving  as  a  pri- 
vate soldier  in  the  army  of  Gen.  Wolfe,  at  the  conquest  of 
Quebec.  Large  numbers  of  the  provincials  sacrificed  their 
lives  for  the  good  of  their  country  during  the  period  of  the  old 
French  Avar,  and  especially  at  the  seige  of  Havana  in  1762. 
His  father  was  killed  when  he  was  eight  years  old.  After 
the  death  of  his  parent,  his  mother  married  a  Mr.  Pearson, 
by  whom  she  had  several  children.  Francis,  the  elder 
brother,  inherited  the  patrimonial  estate,  and  pursued  the 
occupations  of  farming  and  tanning  leather,  which  had  been 
followed  by  his  father  before  him. 

The  education  of  Jonathan  extended  only  to  reading, 
writing,  and  arithmetic,  for  which  latter  study  he  had  prob- 
ably a  decided  relish,  as  in  after  life  he  became  an  accom- 
plished land  surveyor.  At  a  suitable  age  he  was  bound  as  an 
apprentice  to  his  brother  Francis.  Connections  of  this  kind 
between  near  relatives,  are  seldom  fortunate  or  happy,  and 
are  much  more  likely  to  be  agreeable  with  a  stranger.  Dr. 
Franklin  has  given  us  a  sample  of  this  kind,  with  its  un- 
pleasant results,  in  his  apprenticeship  to  an  elder  brother. 
There  seems  to  be  a  disposition  on  one  side  to  act  the  tyrant, 
and  on  the  other  to  render  obedience  with  reluctance,  as  if 
the  tender  tie  of  relationship  was  severed  when  forced  by 
the  indenture  of  apprenticeship  to  perform  certain  duties, 
whether  willing  or  not.  In  this  they  conflicted  so  roughly 
ivith  each  other,  that  before  the  expiration  of  the  term  of 


JONATHAN    STONE.  381 

service,  Jonathan  left  his  brother,  and  entered  on  board  a 
whale-ship  at  Newport,  R.  I.,  and  was  absent  two  years. 
What  adventures  he  experienced  in  this  voyage,  are  un- 
known; but,  doubtless  he  learnt  one  salutary  thing,  that  he 
must  obey  his  new  master,  both  in  foul  and  fair  weather ; 
and  that  he  could  not  leave  the  ship  so  easily  as  he  did  the 
house  of  Ms  brother  Francis. 

Soon  after  his  return,  hostilities  commenced  between  the 
colonies  and  Great  Britain,  and  he  entered  the  service  of  his 
country  as  a  volunteer,  being  an  orderly-sergeant  in  Col. 
Learned's  regiment.  By  his  letters  of  the  29th  of  May, 
1775,  he  was  then  at  Roxbury  with  the  army,  besieging  the 
town  of  Boston,  then  the  head-quarters  of  the  king's  troops 
in  America.  He  seems  to  have  possessed  the  true  spirit  of 
patriotism,  for  he  says  that  himself  and  each  one  of  the 
company  to  which  he  belonged,  "Are  animated  with  the 
glorious  cause  in  which  they  are  engaged,  hoping  to  deliver 
the  country  from  vassalage  and  slavery,  tyranny  and  oppres- 
sion, that  those  blood-thirsty  hirelings  may  not  again  be 
allowed  to  imbnfe  their  filthy  hands  in  the  innocent  blood  of 
our  neighbors,"  referring,  no  doubt,  to  the  Lexington  murders 
of  the  19th  of  April,  which  had  filled  the  whole  country 
with  the  spirit  of  resistance  and  revenge.  In  August  of  this 
year  he  was  sick  with  a  fever,  and  he  observes  that  the 
"camp  distemper,"  as  the  dysentery  was  called,  prevailed 
amongst  the  troops,  and  extended  into  the  country  towns, 
as  was  thought  by  contagion  from  the  sick  soldiers. 

As  a  testimony  of  his  bravery  and  good  conduct  during 
the  year  1775,  he  was  appointed  a  lieutenant,  for  on  the 
11th  of  March,  1776,  in  writing  to  a  female  correspondent, 
he  directs  her  to  put  Lieut,  after  his  name,  in  Col.  Learned's 
regiment.  He  also  says,  "  We  have  had  a  great  deal  of 
cannonading  lately.  Last  Saturday  night  I  was  on  Dor- 
chester hights,  and  of  our  party,  one  surgeon  and  three 


382  JONATHAN    STONE. 

soldiers  were  killed  by  one  shot.  They  are  now  firing  from 
Boston,  and  not  less  than  thirty  or  forty  cannon  have  been 
discharged  since  I  have  been  writing  this  letter;"  and  it  was 
but  a  brief  one.  It  was  at  this  time  that  the  celebrated 
fascine  battery  was  erected  by  Col.  Putnam,  on  the  night?, 
that  soon  after  forced  the  British  to  evacuate  the  town,  as 
the  American  guns  commanded  the  inner  harbor,  and  en- 
dangered the  shipping.  In  all  these  stirring  scenes.  Lieut. 
Stone  took  an  active  part,  but  the  particular  incidents  are 
not  noticed  in  his  letters,  and  none  of  his  old  comrades  are 
living  to  narrate  them. 

In  the  course  of  the  year  1776  he  was  married  to  Susan- 
nah Mathews,  of  New  Braintree,  a  young  lady  to  whom  he 
had  for  several  years  been  attached.  She  was  a  daughter 
of  Daniel  Mathews,  and  her  mother  a  sister  of  Gen.  Rufus 
Putnam.  She  possessed  an  agreeable  person,  good,  sound 
sense,  plain,  country  manners,  and  industrious  habits,  being 
the  child  of  a  farmer.  She  displayed  great  energy  of  char- 
acter, and  after  her  husband's  death,  in  1801,  conducted  the 
affairs  of  a  large  dairy  farm  with  judgment  and  profit. 

On  the  1st  of  January,  1777,  Lieut.  Stone  was  commis- 
sioned as  paymaster  in  Col.  Putnam's  regiment.  In  Au- 
gust of  that  year  he  was  with  the  army  at  Saratoga,  and 
in  September  at  Stillwater,  quartering  with  Capt.  Goodale, 
some  of  whose  partisan  exploits  are  noticed  in  his  letters  to 
his  wife.  He  remained  with  the  troops,  partaking  in  all  the 
dangers  of  the  numerous  engagements  with  the  enemy, 
until  the  surrender  of  Burgoyne.  In  1778  he  was  stationed 
at  West  Point,  attached  to  Col.  Putnam's  regiment.  In  1779 
he  received  a  lieutenant's  commission  in  the  fifteenth  regi- 
ment, and  in  1781  that  of  captain,  in  which  post  he  served 
to  the  close  of  the  war.  Several  of  these  commissions  are 
signed  by  John  Hancock,  in  that  strong,  bold  hand  so 
conspicuous   among  the  signatures  of  the  Declaration   of 


JONATHAN    STONE.  383 

Independence.  The  seals  attached  are  remarkable  for  hav- 
ing a  huge  rattlesnake  figured  over  the  cap  of  liberty,  as  if 
threatening  his  enemies  with  death,  and  to  defend  it  against 
all  opposers ;  the  other  emblems  are  implements  of  war. 
Under  the  new  constitution,  of  1788,  the  United  States  se- 
lected the  eagle  to  represent  their  dignity  and  sovereignty 
to  the  nations  of  the  earth ;  and  if  less  terrific,  is  a  much 
more  beautiful  and  noble  emblem  of  the  grandeur  and  mag- 
nanimity of  the  republic. 

After  the  close  of  the  war  he  returned  to  the  peaceful  oc- 
cupations of  agriculture,  and  purchased  a  farm,  with  the 
remains  of  his  seven  years'  hard  service  in  the  cause  of  lib- 
erty, in  the  town  of  Brookfield,  Mass.,  then  the  home  of  Gen. 
Putnam,  with  whom  he  had  been  intimate  during  this  long 
period.  Having  become  familiar  with  the  science  of  field- 
surveying,  he  was  employed  by  Gen.  Putnam,  in  1786  and 
1787,  to  assist  him  in  surveying  the  lands  of  the  state  of 
Massachusetts,  on  the  eastern  shore  of  the  District  of  Maine, 
then  a  part  of  her  territory. 

It  was  during  the  winter  after  the  first  year  of  this  survey, 
or  that  of  1786,  that  he  found,  on  his  return,  the  adjacent 
counties  deeply  involved  in  an  insurrection  against  their 
own  government,  commonly  known  as  "  Shays'  insurrection." 
It  was  one  of  the  strangest  anomolies  in  nature,  that  a  peo- 
ple who  had  just  escaped  from  the  thraldom  of  a  tyrannical 
monarch,  and  had  established  a  government  of  their  own 
choosing,  should  so  turn  against  it,  and  like  the  shark,  or  the 
alligator,  devour  their  own  progeny.  So  wide-spread  and 
universal  was  this  spirit  of  disaffection,  that  nearly  one-third 
of  the  inhabitants  of  the  counties  of  Hampshire,  Berkshire, 
and  Worcester,  were  engaged  in  it,  beside  many  in  all  other 
portions  of  the  state.  The  saying  of  our  Savior  in  regard 
to  the  reception  of  the  gospel  amongst  mankind,  in  the  di- 
vision of  families,  households,  and  neighborhoods,  was  here 


364  JONATHAN    STONE. 

exemplified,  in  relation  to  their  political  sentiments,  the  father 
being  opposed  to  the  son,  and  the  brother  against  his  brother. 
In  the  family  of  Capt.  Stone,  his  brother  Francis  was  a 
Shays  man,  and  his  wife's  father  was  on  the  same  side; 
while  he  enlisted,  with  all  his  powers  of  body  and  soul, 
in  aid  of  the  government,  in  opposition  to  the  principles 
of  the  insurgents.  In  support  of  the  laws  and  good  order, 
were  found  nearly  all  the  officers  of  the  Revolutionary  army, 
and  most  of  the  well-informed  and  substantial  citizens. 

The  cause  of  this  unnatural  outbreak  seems  to  have 
arisen  from  the  general  oppression  felt  from  the  immense 
load  of  public  and  private  debt,  contracted  during  the  war. 
The  debt  of  the  state  amounted  to  more  than  five  million 
dollars,  and  their  portion  of  the  national  debt,  to  nearly  as 
much  more.  During  the  war  stay  laws  had  been  enacted 
to  prevent  the  regular  collection  of  debts,  by  which  the 
amount  had  greatly  accumulated.  Paper-money,  their  hope 
and  stay  during  the  war,  had  run  down  to  a  mere  nominal 
value,  and  state  bonds  had  depreciated  to  a  few  shillings  on 
the  pound.  What  specie  the  French  troops  had  left  in  the 
country,  was  gathered  up  by  the  merchants,  and  sent  to 
Europe,  to  purchase  merchandise,  of  which  the  states  were 
woefully  destitute  at  the  close  of  the  war.  The  country  was 
so  much  exhausted  by  their  long  struggle,  that  they  had  no 
produce  to  send  abroad  to  buy  either  goods  or  specie.  Their 
fisheries  and  whaleries,  which,  before  the  war,  had  brought 
millions  into  the  provinces,  were  ruined  by  that  event,  and 
had  not  yet  revived. 

In  this  wide-spread  distress,  a  general  clamor  arose  against 
the  merchants,  and  against  the  courts ;  but  more  especially 
against  the  lawyers  who  executed  the  decrees  of  the  courts. 
in  collecting  the  debts  due  to  the  more  wealthy  portion  of  the 
people.  Private  contracts,  as  early  as  1782,  had  been  made 
to  give  place  to  the  payment  of  public  taxes,  from  an  idea 


JONATHAN    STONE.  385 

that  the  scarcity  of  specie  did  not  admit  of  the  payment  of 
both.  The  former,  therefore,  were  made  payable  in  other 
property  than  money,  by  an  act  called  "  the  Tender  act." 
By  this,  executions  issued  for  individual  demands,  might  be 
satisfied  by  neat  cattle  and  other  personal  property,  on  an 
appraisement  by  impartial  men.  This  only  suspended  the 
payment  of  debts ;  as  many  would  not  collect  under  it,  but 
waited  for  its  expiration,  in  a  year  from  its  origin.  It  was 
the  first  signal  for  hostilities  between  creditors  and  debtors, 
the  rich  and  the  poor,  the  few  and  the  many. 

With  such  high-wrought  notions  of  freedom,  in  a  people 
just  escaped  from  the  fetters  of  the  mother  country,  it  was 
a  difficult  matter  for  their  rulers  to  make  laws  that  satisfied 
them.  They,  therefore,  commenced  holding  conventions  of 
the  disaffected,  in  which  they  censured  the  conduct  of  their 
public  officers.  They  voted  the  senate  and  the  judicial 
courts  to  be  grievances,  and  called  for  a  revision  of  the 
constitution,  which  they  had  so  lately  formed,  and  was  con- 
sidered one  of  the  best  in  the  Union.  Advantage  was  taken 
of  these  commotions  to  clamor  against  lawyers,  and  in  their 
public  addresses  to  say,  that  this  class  ought  to  be  abolished, 
and  none  of  them  returned  as  representatives  in  the  General 
Court  for  1786.  So  far  was  this  principle,  carried,  that  in 
the  House  of  that  year  a  bill  was  passed,  "to  admit  all  per- 
sons of  a  moral  character  into  the  practice  of  the  law,  be- 
fore the  judicial  courts;"  also  to  fix  their  fees,  and  oblige 
them  to  take  an  oath,  previous  to  their  pleading,  not  to  re- 
ceive more  than  the  lawful  fees,  of  their  clients.  When  the 
bill  came  to  the  Senate,  they  laid  it  over,  for  examination,  to 
the  next  Assembly.  As  this  body  had  continued  to  act  with 
wisdom  and  dignity,  opposed  to  the  wild,  Jacobin  princi- 
ples of  the  disaffected  people,  they,  at  a  convention  of  dele- 
gates from  fifty  towns  in  the  county  of  Hampshire,  held  at 

Hatfield,  on  the  22d  of  August,  published  a  statement  of 
25 


386  JONATHAN    STONE. 

their  grievances  in  twenty  articles ;  the  first  of  which  was 
"the  existence  of  the  Senate,"  as  if  this  body  was  one  cause 
of  their  troubles ;  fifth,  "  the  existence  of  the  Courts  of  Com- 
mon Pleas  and  General  Sessions  of  the  Peace;"  so  that 
every  man  might  do  what  was  right  in  his  own  eyes.  In  the 
eighteenth  they  voted  that  then  representatives  be  instructed 
to  use  their  influence  in  the  next  General  Court,  to  emit 
paper-money,  subject  to  a  depreciation,  making  it  a  tender 
in  all  payments,  equal  to  silver  and  gold,  to  be  issued  in 
order  to  call  in  the  state  securities;  thinking,  no  doubt, 
that  an  abundance  of  paper-money  would  relieve  all  their 
embarrassments.  The  state  of  Rhode  Island  was  then  try- 
ing this  experiment,  and  its  results  only  added  to  their  trou- 
bles instead  of  relieving  them. 

The  last  of  August,  a  body  of  more  than  a  thousand  of 
these  misguided  people,  led  on  by  designing  demagogues, 
assembled  at  Northampton,  took  possession  of  the  court- 
house, and  prevented  the  sitting  of  the  court.  The  same 
thing  was  attempted  at  Worcester,  and  the  courts  adjourned 
without  doing  any  business.  Amidst  these  scenes  of  com- 
motion and  misrule,  the  inhabitants  of  Boston  and  several 
of  the  adjacent  counties  remained  firm  and  true  to  their 
government,  constitution,  and  laws;  supporting  their  excel- 
lent governor,  Mr.  Bowdoin,  in  all  necessary  measures  for 
the  public  weal,  and  advancing  money  from  their  private 
resources,  when  the  time  came  for  calling  out  an  armed 
force  in  aid  of  the  laws. 

A  similar  effort  was  made  to  put  down  the  court  at 
Springfield,  by  a  body  of  men  under  Daniel  Shays,  but  it 
was  prevented  by  an  assembly  of  six  hundred  well  armed 
citizens,  from  the  most  respectable  and  influential  inhabit- 
ants of  the  county  of  Hampshire,  who  took  possession  of 
the  court-house,  and  protected  the  judges  in  their  official 
duties,  so  that,   although  this   was  the  stronghold  of  the 


JONATHAN    STONE.  387 

insurrection,  there  was  yet  patriotism  enough  amongst  them 
to  save  from  utter  ruin  the  forms  of  civil  society. 

The  General  Court  met  at  Boston  in  October,  and  finding 
that  the  opposition  to  the  courts  of  law,  and  the  necessary 
restraints  of  government  were  increasing,  rather  than  di- 
minishing, they  authorized  the  governor  to  call  out  the 
militia  for  their  protection.  Accordingly,  four  thousand  four 
hundred  men  were  assembled  and  put  under  the  command 
of  Gen.  Benjamin  Lincoln,  who  marched  to  Worcester  and 
protected  the  sitting  of  the  court.  Gen.  Shepherd  also  col- 
lected nine  hundred  of  the  militia  at  Springfield,  where  was 
the  arsenal  of  the  state,  and  principal  deposit  of  arms.  On 
the  25th  of  January,  Shays,  with  eleven  hundred  men,  well 
armed,  attempted  to  drive  Gen.  Shepherd  from  the  town, 
but  was  defeated  without  any  serious  attack,  by  discharging 
one  round  of  artillery  amongst  the  insurgents,  by  which 
three  men  were  killed  and  one  badly  wounded.  Well  know- 
ing the  badness  of  their  cause,  the  main  body  broke  and 
fled.  They  were  pursued  by  the  state  troops  a  short  dis- 
tance, without  overtaking  them,  and  took  up  their  quarters 
in  the  town  of  Hadley,  from  the  inclemency  of  the  weather, 
being  in  the  midst  of  a  severe  winter.  A  company  of 
men  from  Brookfield,  amongst  which  was  Capt.  Stone,  vol- 
unteered in  putting  down  this  rebellion,  in  which  was  en- 
gaged his  brother  Francis  Stone,  and  some  of  the  connections 
of  his  wife.  "  The  morning  after  the  arrival  of  the  army 
at  Hadley,  information  was  received  that  a  small  number 
of  Gen.  Shepherd's  men  had  been  captured  at  Southamp- 
ton, and  that  the  enemy's  party  still  continued  there.  The 
Brookfield  volunteers,  consisting  of  fifty  men,  commanded 
by  Col.  Baldwin,  were  sent  in  sleighs  with  one  hundred 
horse,  under  Col.  Crafts,  to  pursue  them.  They  were  soon 
found  to  consist  of  eighty  men  with  ten  sleighs,  and  at 
twelve  o'clock  the  same  night,  were  overtaken  at  Middlefield. 


388  JONATHAN    STONE. 

They  had  quartered  themselves  in  separate  places,  and 
about  one-half  of  them,  with  one  Luddington,  their  cap- 
tain, being  lodged  in  a  house  together,  were  first  sur- 
rounded. It  was  a  singular  circumstance,  that  among  the 
government's  volunteers  happened  to  be  Gen.  Tupper,  who 
had  lately  commanded  a  continental  regiment,  in  which 
Luddington  had  served  as  corporal.  The  general,  ignorant 
of  the  character  of  his  enemy,  summoned  the  party  to  sur- 
render. How  astonished  was  the  corporal  at  receiving  the 
summons  in  a  voice  to  which  he  had  never  dared  to  refuse 
obedience !  A  momentary  explanation  took  place,  which 
but  hightened  the  general's  commands.  Resistance  was  no 
longer  made,  the  doors  were  opened,  and  a  surrender  was 
agreed  upon.  By  this  time  the  rest  of  the  party  had  paraded 
under  arms,  at  the  distance  of  two  hundred  yards,  where 
they  were  met  by  a  number  of  men  prepared  for  their  re- 
ception. Both  sides  were  on  the  point  of  firing,  but  upon 
an  artful  representation  of  the  strength  of  the  government's 
troops,  the  insurgents  laid  down  their  arms,  and  fifty-nine 
prisoners,  with  nine  sleigh  loads  of  provisions,  fell  into  the 
hands  of  the  conquerors,  who  returned  to  the  army  on  the 
day  following."* 

The  insurgents  under  Shays  having  taken  a  strong  posi- 
tion on  the  hills  of  Pelham,  were  summoned  by  Gen.  Lincoln 
to  lay  down  their  arms,  and  subscribe  the  oath  of  allegiance 
to  the  state,  or  he  should  be  obliged  to  attack  them  and  ap- 
prehend their  leaders,  thus  occasioning  much  bloodshed. 
To  this  they  replied  that  they  were  willing  to  disband,  but 
could  not  until  they  heard  from  the  General  Court  on  the 
matter,  to  which  body  they  had  sent  a  messenger  with  a 
petition. 


*  Miuot's  History  of  the  Rebellion. 


JONATHAN    STONE.  389 

"  On  the  next  day  three  of  the  insurgent  leaders  came  to 
head-quarters  with  the  following  letter  : 

'  The  Honorable  Gen.  Lincoln  :  Sir  :  As  the  officers  of  the 
people,  now  convened  in  defense  of  their  rights  and  privi- 
leges, have  sent  a  petition  to  the  General  Court,  for  the  sole 
purpose  of  accommodating  our  present  unhappy  affairs,  we 
justly  expect  that  hostilities  may  cease  on  both  sides  until 
we  have  a  return  from  our  Legislature.  Your  honor  will, 
therefore,  be  pleased  to  give  us  an  answer. 

Per  order  of  the  committee  for  reconciliation. 

Francis  Stone,  chairman, 
Daniel  Shays,  captain, 
Adam  Wheeler. 

Pelham,  January  31st,  1787.'"* 

To  this  communication,  Lincoln  returned  a  decided  nega- 
tive. The  Legislature  met  on  the  3d  of  February,  and  de- 
clared the  commonwealth  in  a  state  of  rebellion,  approved 
the  governor's  doings,  and  proceeded  in  earnest  to  put  down 
the  insurrection.  The  insurgents  did  not  wait  for  the  return 
of  their  messenger  from  Boston,  but  on  the  3d  of  February, 
left  the  hills  and  marched  to  Pelham,  where  provisions  were 
more  plenty.  They  were  pursued  by  Lincoln,  through  a 
tremendous  snow-storm  and  excessive  cold,  to  Petersham,  a 
distance  of  thirty  miles  without  halting,  a  march  unequaled 
in  the  American  annals.  About  one  hundred  and  fifty  were 
taken  prisoners,  and  the  rest  dispersed  over  the  country, 
some  to  their  own  homes,  but  the  leaders  and  the  most  vio- 
lent of  their  followers,  fled  from  the  state  into  New  York 
and  Vermont. 

In  both  these  states  they  found  many  abettors,  and  during 
the  following  spring,  occasionally  made  inroads  into  the 


*  Minot's  History  of  the  Rebellion. 


390  JONATHAN    STONE. 

commonwealth  for  plunder  and  the  capture  of  persons  par- 
ticularly obnoxious  to  them.  It  was  late  in  the  year  before 
order  was  entirely  restored  in  the  disaffected  portions  of  the 
state.  The  leniency  of  the  government  finally  pardoned 
nearly  or  quite  all  who  were  concerned  in  the  rebellion,  and 
thus  ended  one  of  the  most  dangerous  and  singular  insur- 
rections that  ever  happened  amongst  a  free  people. 

On  the  formation  of  the  Ohio  Company,  Capt.  Stone  sold 
his  farm  in  Brookfield,  and  invested  the  proceeds  in  two 
shares  of  the  Ohio  Company  lands,  being  about  two  thou- 
sand acres.  To  this  he  was  doubtless  the  more  readily  in- 
duced from  the  ill  conduct  of  several  of  his  near  connections 
in  the  late  insurrection,  and  that  he  might  still  be  favored 
with  the  society  of  such  men  as  Gen.  Putnam,  Tupper  and 
Goodale,  with  whom  he  had  been  so  long  and  so  intimately 
associated.  In  the  fall  of  1788,  he  visited  Marietta  and 
made  preparations  for  the  reception  of  his  family.  On  the 
4th  of  July,  1789,  he  left  Brookfield  with  a  wagon  drawn  by 
four  oxen,  containing  his  household  goods  and  three  chil- 
dren. Two  cows  were  driven  on  ahead,  while  his  wife 
traveled  the  whole  distance  on  horseback  to  Simrel's  ferry, 
the  western  rendezvous  for  emigrants  to  Marietta.  At  Buf- 
falo, or  Charleston,  he  bartered  one  yoke  of  the  oxen  for 
provisions  to  support  his  family  until  he  could  raise  a  crop 
himself.  He  reached  Belpre  the  10th  of  December,  and 
put  up  a  log-cabin  on  his  lot,  drawn  the  winter  before, 
making  the  floors  and  doors  from  the  planks  of  the  boat  in 
which  he  descended  the  river.  His  farm  lay  in  the  wide 
bottom,  opposite  and  a  little  below  the  mouth  of  the  Little 
Kenawha,  and  is  now  in  the  possession  of  his  son,  Col.  John 
Stone.  In  the  Indian  war  he  moved  his  family  into  Farmers' 
castle,  and  was  one  of  the  most  active  and  efficient  de- 
fenders of  that  garrison.  In  the  spring  of  1793,  he,  with 
several  others,  erected  a  palisade  and  several  block-houses 


ROBERT    OLIVER.  391 

on  his  own  farm,  and  remained  there  until  the  peace  of  1795. 
In  1792,  he  was  appointed  treasurer  of  the  county  of  Wash- 
ington, by  Winthrop  Sargent,  then  acting  as  governor  of  the 
Northwest  Territory.  After  the  peace  he  was  employed  by 
the  Ohio  Company,  with  Jeflery  Mathewson,  to  complete 
the  surveys  of  their  lands,  which  was  done  in  a  masterly 
manner. 

He  died  after  a  short  illness,  on  the  25th  of  March,  1801, 
aged  fifty  years. 

Capt.  Stone  was  a  man  with  a  well-formed,  agreeable 
person,  gentlemanly  manners  and  social  habits.  By  his 
cotemporaries  he  was  highly  esteemed,  and  his  early  death 
greatly  lamented.  A  number  of  his  children  and  grand- 
children are  living  in  Ohio,  holding  respectable  stations  in 
society. 


COL.    ROBERT    OLIVER. 

Col.  Robert  Oliver  was  born  in  the  vicinity  of  Boston,  in 
the  year  1738.  His  parents  were  emigrants  from  the  north 
of  Ireland.  When  he  was  quite  young  they  moved  to  the  town 
of  Barre,  Worcester  county,  Mass.,  and  purchased  a  farm. 
His  early  years  were  devoted  to  agriculture,  which  gave  him 
a  hardy ,  vigorous  frame,  fitted  to  meet  and  sustain  the  faligues 
of  the  camp.  His  education  was  good  for  that  period,  em- 
bracing reading,  writing,  and  arithmetic,  which,  added  to  his 
naturally  strong  mind,  prepared  him  for  transacting  any 
ordinary  public  business,  as  well  as  his  own  private  affairs, 
in  a  creditable  manner. 


392  ROBERT    OLIVER. 

About  the  y^ar  1775,  he  married  Miss  Molly  Walker,  by 
whom  he  had  a  large  family  of  children. 

At  the  commencement  of  the  Revolution,  he  entered  the 
service  as  a  lieutenant,  marching  with  a  company  of  minute 
men  to  Cambridge,  where  he  was  advanced  to  a  captaincy 
by  the  provincial  government,  in  the  third  Massachusetts 
regiment.  In  1777,  he  was  commissioned  as  a  major,  and 
in  1779,  promoted  to  a  lieutenant-colonel  of  the  tenth  regi- 
ment, and  at  the  close  of  the  war  a  colonel  by  brevet.  In 
the  campaign  which  humbled  Gen.  Burgoyne,  he  was  en- 
gaged in  all  the  principal  battles,  and  especially  in  storming 
the  German  lines  on  the  7th  of  October,  under  Col.  Rufus 
Putnam,  to  whose  regiment  he  was  attached.  He  was  cele- 
brated as  a  disciplinarian,  and  for  a  time  acted  as  adjutant- 
general  of  the  northern  division  of  the  army.  Baron  Steuben 
highly  applauded  his  superior  tact  in  the  discipline  and 
evolutions  of  the  troops. 

At  the  close  of  the  war,  having  served  through  the  whole 
period,  he  returned  to  his  family  and  purchased  a  farm  in 
the  town  of  Conway,  Mass.  Nearly  eight  years  of  the  most 
valuable  period  of  his  life  were  spent  in  the  service  of  his 
country,  for  which  he  received  payment  in  final  settlement 
securities,  which,  in  the  market,  were  worth  about  ten  cents 
on  the  dollar. 

In  the  fall  and  winter  of  1786-7,  true  to  the  cause  of 
liberty  and  the  country  he  had  assisted  in  gaining  its  inde- 
pendence, he  volunteered  in  suppressing  the  insurrection  in 
Massachusetts,  under  Shays  and  others,  which  came  nigh 
overturning  the  government,  then  barely  established,  in  tu- 
mult and  ruin. 

The  Ohio  Company  was  soon  after  formed,  and  he  invested 
the  remains  of  his  property  in  two  shares  of  their  land,  and 
moved  his  family  to  Marietta  in  the  summer  of  1788,  where 
he  was  united  with  many  of  his  old  friends  and  companions 


ROBERT    OLIVER.  393 

in  arms.  In  1789,  in  company  with  Maj.  Haffield  White 
and  Capt.  John  Dodge,  both  Massachusetts  men,  he  erected 
a  saw  and  grist-mill  on  Wolf  creek,  in  Waterford,  about  a 
mile  from  its  mouth.  These  were  the  first  mills  ever  built 
in  the  present  state  of  Ohio.  The  situation  is  very  pictur- 
esque and  beautiful,  with  solid  limestone  banks,  overhanging 
cedar  trees,  and  other  evergreens.  There  is  a  considerable 
rapid,  or  falls,  at  this  spot,  making  a  suitable  site  for  a  mill. 
The  drawing  which  accompanies  this  memoir,  is  a  good  rep- 
resentation of  the  mills  and  scenery,  with  the  log-cabins  of 
the  three  proprietors  as  built  in  1789. 

In  1790,  after  the  death  of  Gen.  Parsons,  he  was  elected 
a  director  of  the  Ohio  Company,  and  was  a  veiy  active  and 
efficient  member  of  that  important  board.  In  forming  the 
settlements  at  Wolf  creek  and  Waterford,  he  was  one  of  the 
principal  leaders,  giving  energy  and  zeal  to  these  frontier 
establishments,  and  by  his  military  knowledge,  directing  the 
best  models  for  their  works  of  defense  against  the  attacks 
of  the  hostile  tribes.  So  formidable  and  strong  was  the 
post  at  Waterford,  that  the  Indians  did  not  venture  a  serious 
attack  upon  it,  but  only  killed  their  cattle  and  such  of  the 
inhabitants  as  they  found  outside  of  its  walls.  After  the 
destruction  of  the  Big  Bottom  settlement,  in  January,  1791, 
and  the  war  was  fairly  commenced,  he  removed  his  family 
to  Marietta,  where  his  services  were  constantly  needed  as  a 
director  of  the  company;  who,  for  the  first  year  or  two  of 
the  war,  provided  the  means,  and  were  at  all  the  expense 
of  defending  the  country,  so  that  their  continual  watchful- 
ness was  as  much  required  as  that  of  the  civil  government 
of  a  province  in  the  time  of  actual  war  or  invasion.  Some 
estimate  may  be  formed  of  their  duties,  when  it  is  stated 
that  they  expended  upwards  of  eleven  thousand  dollars 
of  the  company  funds  in  providing  for  and  protecting  the 
colonists. 


394  ROBERT    OLIVER. 

In  the  formation  of  the  first  territorial  Legislature  in 
1798,  he  was  elected  a  representative  from  Washington 
county.  Out  of  the  assembled  representatives,  the  gover- 
nor selected  five  men  who  were  to  act  as  a  legislative 
council,  performing  the  duties  of  a  Senate.  Col.  Oliver 
was  one  of  this  number,  and  in  company  with  Jacob  Burnet, 
James  Findlay,  II.  Vanderburg,  and  David  Vance,  was 
commissioned  by  John  Adams,  then  president  of  the  United 
States,  on  the  4th  day  of  March,  1799.  In  1800  he  was 
elected  president  of  the  council,  and  continued  in  that  post 
until  the  formation  of  the  state  government  in  1803.  When 
the  standing  and  character  of  the  men  who  constituted  the 
council  is  considered,  it  was  no  ordinary  honor  to  be  elected 
as  their  presiding  officer. 

Col.  Oliver  possessed  a  clear,  discriminating  mind,  and 
was  truly  dignified  in  his  manners ;  had  a  perfect  command 
of  his  passions,  and  was  very  amiable  in  his  intercourse 
with  his  associates.  He  had  a  good  fund  of  anecdote, 
which  he  related  in  a  very  interesting  manner. 

After  the  close  of  the  Indian  war,  he  returned  to  his  farm 
at  the  mills,  where  he  resided  until  his  death.  He  was  ap- 
pointed by  Gov.  St.  Clair  lieutenant-colonel  of  the  first 
regiment  of  territorial  militia,  and  colonel  of  the  second 
regiment,  in  1795.  He  also  appointed  him  one  of  the 
judges  of  the  Court  of  Common  Pleas  in  the  same  year, 
and  made  a  very  efficient  magistrate.  He  was  a  man  of 
great  activity  and  usefulness,  both  as  a  civil  and  military 
officer.  Soon  after  the  territory  became  a  state,  the  men 
whose  eyes  had  grown  dim,  and  their  heads  gray  in  their 
country's  service,  were  "  laid  upon  the  shelf,"  if  they  differed 
in  political  opinion  from  the  ruling  powers.  Col.  Oliver  was 
a  disciple  of  Washington,  and  followed  his  political  pre- 
cepts; therefore  he  received  no  more  favors  from  the  govern- 
ment.    The  inhabitants  of  his  township,  however,  thought 


ROBERT    OLIVER.  395 

him  still  a  worthy  man,  and  elected  him  a  justice  of  the 
peace,  and  kept  him  in  office  as  long  as  he  lived. 

In  person,  he  was  about  five  feet  ten  inches  high,  stoutly 
built,  and  commanding  appearance;  face  full,  mild,  and 
bland,  with  a  pleasant  expression  when  in  conversation 
with  his  friends,  but  severe  and  terrible  to  the  vicious  and 
undeserving.  His  head  was  finely  formed,  but  early  be- 
came bald.  Once,  at  Chillicothe,  in  a  convivial  party,  one 
of  the  company,  an  influential  and  noted  man  of  that  day, 
being  rather  full  of  wine,  laid  his  hand  familiarly  and  some- 
what roughly  on  the  bald  head  of  the  colonel.  With  one 
of  his  stern  looks  he  thus  addressed  him :  "  General,  you 
must  not  lay  your  hand  on  my  bald  pate,  which  has  many 
times  stood  where  you  would  not  dare  to  show  your  face." 

In  early  life  he  became  a  professor  of  religion,  and 
although  his  calling  exposed  him  to  the  dissolute  habits  of 
an  army,  and  was  not  calculated  to  promote  his  growth  in 
grace,  yet  he  was  always  a  consistent  follower  of  the  Lord 
Jesus  Christ,  and  at  the  formation  of  the  first  Congregational 
church  in  Marietta,  in  1796,  he  was  a  member,  and  re- 
mained an  ornament  to  the  profession  of  a  Christian. 

He  died  in  May,  1810,  aged  seventy-two  years. 

The  impress  of  his  character  still  remains  on  the  early 
settlement  he  formed,  and  it  is  hoped  will  long  remain  for 
their  best  good. 


MAJ.    HAFFIELD    WHITE. 

Maj.  Haffield  White  was  a  native  of  Danvers,  Mass. 

At  the  commencement  of  the  war,  on  the  19th  of  April, 
1775,  by  the  attack  of  the  British  troops  on  the  militia,  at 
Lexington,  and  the  destruction  of  the  stores  at  Concord,  he- 
was  an  officer  in  a  company  of  minute  men.  The  news  of 
that  attack  was  spread  through  the  country  with  great  rap- 
idity ;  and  men  who  in  the  morning  were  thirty  miles  from 
the  scene  of  action,  were  on  the  ground  before  night,  in  time 
to  harass  the  jaded  and  retreating  Britons,  from  their  first 
inroad  into  the  possessions  of  the  Massachusetts  yeomanry. 
The  result  of  that  day  taught  them  to  be  cautious  in  ven- 
turing far  beyond  the  cover  of  the  guns  of  their  navy,  into 
the  land  of  these  modern  Spartans.  The  alarm  reached 
Danvers  in  time  for  Lieut.  Wbite,  with  the  company  of 
minute  men,  to  reach  the  flanks  of  the  flying  enemy,  and, 
from  behind  the  stone  walls,  throw  several  destructive  fires 
into  the  ranks  of  the  British.  His  own  men  suffered  con- 
siderably; losing  eight  killed  out  of  the  company.  Soon 
after  this  affair  he  was  commissioned  as  a  captain,  and 
raised  a  company  of  men,  which  was  among  the  most  effi- 
cient and  active  in  the  service,  especially  at  the  crossing  of 
the  Delaware,  and  battle  of  Trenton,  in  December,  1761  ; 
many  of  them  being  sailors,  and  very  useful  in  manning  the 
boats  to  cross  the  army.  He  was  with  Gen.  St.  Clair  in  the 
retreat  from  Ticonderoga;  and  under  Col.  Francis  fought 
manfully  at  the  battle  of  Hubbardstown ;  thereby  checking 
the  pursuit  of  the  British  troops,  and  enabling  the  Ameri- 
cans to  reach  Stillwater,  and  form  the  nucleus  of  that  army 
which  soon  after  conquered  Burgoyne,  and  turned  the  tide 


HAFFIELD    WHITE.  397 

of  conquest  against  our  foes.  He  was  engaged  in  many  of 
the  battles  that  preceded  this  overthrow,  and  thus  shared  in 
the  glories  and  triumphs  of  Saratoga,  on  the  13th  of  Octo- 
tober,  1777.  At  the  time  of  the  retreat  from  Ticonderoga, 
he  was  paymaster  of  the  regiment,  and  in  that  disastrous 
affair  lost  a  large  sum  of  money,  which  was  not  allowed 
by  the  United  States.  When  Col.  Pickering  took  charge  of 
the  commissary  department  of  the  army,  being  acquainted 
with  the  integrity  and  activity  of  Capt.  White,  living  in  the 
same  town,  he  was  selected  for  one  of  his  assistants,  and 
remained  in  that  branch  of  the  service  until  the  close  of  the 
war,  when  he  was  made  a  major. 

At  the  formation  of  the  Ohio  Company,  he  became  one  of 
the  proprietors,  and  was  appointed,  by  the  directors,  com- 
missary and  conductor  of  their  first  detachment  of  pioneers, 
which  left  Danvers  in  December,  1787.  On  their  arrival  at 
Marietta,  he  was  continued  as  their  steward  for  the  first 
year;  after  which  that  office  was  no  longer  needed.  His 
son  Felatiah  was  one  of  the  forty-eight  who  landed  from 
the  May-flower  at  Marietta,  on  the  7th  of  April.  In  1789  he 
engaged  with  Col.  Oliver  and  Capt.  Dodge,  in  erecting  mills 
on  Wolf  creek.  When  the  war  with  the  Indians  commenced, 
he  left  the  mills,  as  they  were  much  exposed  to  hostile  at- 
tacks, and  came  to  Marietta,  where  he  remained  until  after 
the  peace  of  1795.  He  then  resumed  his  possessions,  a 
farm,  near  the  mills,  and  lived  with  his  son  until  his  death. 

In  person  Maj.  White  was  below  the  medium  size,  but 
thickset  and  robust ;  very  active,  and  brisk  in  his  motions ; 
prompt  to  execute  any  business  on  hand  in  the  most  expe- 
ditious manner;  complexion  florid,  and  sanguine  tempera- 
ment. He  was  a  brave  soldier,  and  a  very  useful  and 
industrious  citizen. 


DEAN     TYLER. 

Dean  Tyler,  Esa.,  was  a  native  of  Haverhill,  Mass.,  and 
liberally  educated  at  one  of  the  New  England  colleges. 
He  possessed  a  brilliant  mind,  an  agreeable  person,  and 
refined  manners. 

In  early  life  he  formed  an  attachment  to  a  young  lady, 
who  returned  it  with  equal  affection.  But  the  wayward 
course  of  lovers  sometimes  crosses  all  their  purposes;  a 
misunderstanding  occurred,  which  induced  Tyler  to  embark 
for  Europe,  to  flee  from  that  which  had  really  become 
necessary  to  his  happiness.  He  took  passage  in  a  letter 
of  marque  for  Bourdeaux.  On  the  voyage  out  and  back, 
he  met  with  some  fighting,  some  storms,  and  had  sev- 
eral narrow  escapes.  These  incidents  probably  helped  to 
cure  him  of  his  jealousy,  or  whatever  it  was  that  caused 
him  to  go  on  this  adventure.  He  returned  with  a  full  de- 
termination to  confess  his  fault,  and  unite  himself  with  her 
whom  he  had  so  abruptly  parted  from.  But  it  was  too  late ; 
he  had  broken  the  heart  of  his  loved  one,  and  the  first  news 
he  heard  on  landing,  was,  that  she  was  dead — had  died  of  a 
broken  heart.  The  shock  entirely  overcame  him;  he  was 
attacked  with  a  violent  illness,  followed  with  delirium,  and 
narrowly  escaped  that  death  he  would  willingly  have  suf- 
fered, could  it  atone  for  his  error.  His  recovery  was  slow 
and  tedious ;  and  it  was  a  long  time  before  he  could  attend 
to  any  business. 

As  soon  as  he  was  able  to  travel,  he  joined  the  Ohio  Com- 
pany adventurers,  then  in  the  opening  of  their  enterprise  to 
occupy  the  great  west,  and  redeem  it  from  the  wilderness. 
He  attached  himself,  in  1789,  to  the  settlement  of  Waterford, 
and,  with  them,  drew  a  donation  lot  of  one  hundred  acres. 


WILLIAM    GRAY.  399 

He  was  a  brave  and  active  pioneer;  exposing  himself  to 
danger  on  every  occasion,  and  doing  all  he  could  for  the 
benefit  of  the  inhabitants.  During  the  winter  months,  he 
taught  school ;  and  on  the  Sabbath  officiated  as  chaplain, 
reading  the  sermons  of  some  able  divine,  and  conducting 
the  public  devotions,  which  were  regularly  kept  up  during 
the  period  of  the  war,  as  well  as  subsequently. 

As  a  man,  he  was  much  respected  by  the  pioneers,  and 
the  garrison  built  for  their  protection,  was  called  Fort  Tyler. 
He  never  married,  but  continued  a  bachelor  to  the  end  of 
his  days.  His  habits  were  rather  studious  and  sedentary; 
except  when  danger  threatened  the  inhabitants  from  an  In- 
dian attack,  when  he  was  alert  and  active.  In  his  latter 
years  he  became  rather  intemperate,  probably  hoping  to 
drown  his  melancholy  reflections  in  the  inebriating  bowl. 
His  name  is  still  fondly  cherished  by  the  descendants  of  his 
pioneer  companions. 


CAPT.   WILLIAM    GRAY. 

Capt.  William  Gray  was  born  in  Lynn,  Mass.,  on  the  26th 
of  March,  1 70 1. 

Being  of  a  warm,  active  temperament,  and  the  struggle 
for  independence  occupying  the  thoughts  and  conversa- 
tion of  all  around  him,  he  became  early  inspired  with  the 
determination  of  doing  all  in  his  power  to  aid  the  cause  of 
his  country,  and  entered  the  service  of  the  United  States,  as 
a  private  soldier,  at  the  age  of  seventeen  years,  or  in  the 
year  1778,  and   served  to  the  close  of  the  war.     At  the 


100  WILLIAM     GRAY. 

attack  on  Stony  Point,  he  had  been  promoted,  for  his  good 
conduct,  to  a  lieutenant,  and  was  among  the  first  who  scaled 
the  walls  of  that  fortress. 

At  the  close  of  the  war  he  returned  to  his  home,  and 
married  Miss  Mary  Diamond,  of  Salem.  His  uncle,  the 
rich  merchant,  William  Gray,  for  whom  he  was  named,  lived 
at  that  time  in  Salem,  and  from  a  humble  situation  in  life, 
being  bred  a  shoemaker,  rose  to  be  one  of  the  richest  mer- 
chants in  Boston.  He  treated  his  nephew  with  great  kind- 
ness ;  and  for  many  years,  even  after  he  moved  to  Ohio, 
annually  sent  him  a  sum  of  money,  sufficient  to  aid  very 
materially  in  the  support  of  his  family.  Soon  after  his  mar- 
riage he  resided  in  Danvers,  where  his  two  oldest  children 
were  born. 

In  the  autumn  of  1787  he  joined  the  Ohio  Company,  and 
had  the  charge  of  one  of  the  wagons  that  transported  the 
first  band  of  pioneers  on  to  the  waters  of  the  Ohio.  On  this 
wagon  was  written,  in  large  letters,  "For  Ohio"  His  family 
was  left  in  Danvers,  and  did  not  come  out  until  1790,  in 
company  with  Maj.  Ezra  Putnam,  from  the  same  place. 
He  joined  the  settlement  at  Waterford,  and  when  the  war 
of  1791  broke  out,  was  chosen  commander  of  the  garrisou 
erected  for  its  defense,  called  Fort  Tyler.  By  his  good  con- 
duct and  prudence,  this  fortress  was  preserved  unharmed, 
although  several  times  in  great  jeopardy.  The  situation 
was  a  very  exposed  one,  on  the  extreme  frontier.  On  the 
head  waters  of  the  Muskingum,  which  washed  its  founda- 
tions, were  seated  numerous  tribes  and  villages  of  the  hos 
tile  Indians,  who,  at  almost  any  season  of  the  year,  could 
embark  their  whole  force  in  canoes,  and  in  forty-eight  hours 
land  at  the  garrison.  Their  approach  might  have  thus 
been  made  in  the  most  secret  manner,  without  even  the 
knowledge  of  the  rangers,  who  constantly  scoured  the  coun- 
try, watching  for  signs  of  the  Indians.     But  an  overruling 


WILLIAM    STAGEY.  401 

Providence  diverted  their  attention  to  other  quarters,  and  they 
passed  the  four  years  of  war  with  but  little  loss  of  life,  but 
much  of  property.  Soon  after  the  peace,  and  men  could 
till  the  earth  in  safety,  he  bought  a  farm  near  the  present 
town  of  Beverly,  and  lived  there,  highly  respected,  until  the 
time  of  his  death,  in  July,  1812. 

He  was  the  father  of  ten  children,  nearly  all  of  whom 
married,  and  their  descendants  are  living  in  this  county. 


COL.    WILLIAM    STAGEY. 


Col.  Stacey  was  a  native  of  Massachusetts,  and  a  propri- 
etor in  the  Ohio  Company.  He  came  early  to  the  North- 
west Territory,  and  settled  in  Washington  county. 

In  the  forepart  of  his  life  he  lived  on  the  sea- coast,  proba- 
bly Salem,  and  was  engaged  in  sea-faring  business.  Find- 
ing himself  surrounded  by  a  rapidly  increasing  family,  he 
removed  to  New  Salem,  in  the  county  of  Hampshire,  Mass., 
and  entered  on  the  life  of  a  farmer.  He  v/as  much  re- 
spected by  his  fellow  townsmen,  and  was  promoted  in  the 
military  service.  In  Barber's  Historical  Sketches  of  Mas- 
sachusetts, is  the  following  notice  of  Col.  Stacey,  copied 
from  the  Barre  Gazette. 

"  The  news  of  the  battle  of  Lexington  flew  through  New 

England  like  wild-fire.     The  swift  horseman  with  his  red 

flag  proclaimed  it  in  every  village,  and  made  the  stirring  call 

upon  the  patriots  to  move  forward  in  defense  of  the  rights 

so  ruthlessly  invaded,  and  now  sealed  with  the  martyrs' 

blood.     Putnam,  it  will  be  recollected,  left  his  plow  in  the 
26 


402  WILLIAM    STAGEY. 

furrow,  and  led  his  gallant  band  to  Cambridge.  Such 
instances  of  promptness  and  devotion  were  not  rare.  We 
love  the  following  instance  of  the  display  of  fervid  patri- 
otism, from  an  eye  witness,  one  of  those  valued  relics  of 
the  band  of  '76,  whom  now  a  grateful  nation  delights  to 
honor. 

When  the  intelligence  reached  New  Salem,  in  this  state, 
the  people  were  hastily  assembled  on  the  village  green  by 
the  notes  of  alarm.  Every  man  came  with  his  gun  and 
other  preparations  for  a  short  march.  The  militia  of  the 
town  were  then  divided  into  two  companies,  one  of  which  was 

commanded  by  a  Capt.  G .    This  company  was  paraded 

before  much  consultation  had  been  held  on  the  proper  steps 
to  be  taken  in  the  emergency,  and  while  determination  was 
expressed  on  almost  every  countenance,  the  men  stood 
silently  leaning  on  their  muskets,  awaiting  the  movement 
of  the  spirit  in  the  officers.  The  captain  was  supposed  to 
be  tinctured  with  Toryism,  and  his  present  indecision  and 
backwardness  were  ample  proofs,  if  not  of  his  attachment 
to  royalty,  at  least  of  his  unfitness  to  lead  a  patriot  band. 
Some  murmurs  began  to  be  heard,  when  the  first  lieuten- 
ant, William  Stacey,  stepped  out  of  the  line,  took  off  his 
hat,  and  addressed  them.  He  was  of  stout  heart,  but  of 
few  words.  Pulling  his  commission  from  his  pocket,  he 
said, '  Fellow  soldiers,  I  don't  know  exactly  how  it  is  with 
the  rest  of  you,  but  for  one,  I  will  no  longer  serve  a  king 
that  murders  my  own  countrymen ; '  and  tearing  the  paper 
in  a  hundred  pieces,  he  trod  them  under  his  feet.  Sober  as 
were  the  people  by  habit  and  natural  disposition,  they  could 
not  refrain  from  a  loud  huzza,  as  he  stepped  back  into  the 
ranks.  Capt.  G still  faltered,  and  made  a  feeble  en- 
deavor to  restore  order,  but  they  heeded  him  as  little  as 
the  wind.  The  company  was  summarily  disbanded,  and  a 
re- organization  took  place  on  the  spot.    The  gallant  Stacey 


WILLIAM    STACEY.  403 

was  unanimously  chosen  captain,  and  with  a  prouder  com- 
mission than  was  ever  borne  on  parchment,  he  led  a  small 
but  resolute  band  to  Cambridge.  He  continued  in  service 
during  the  war,  reaching,  before  its  close,  the  rank  of  lieu- 
tenant-colonel, under  the  command  of  Putnam." 

In  1778,  Capt.  Stacey  had  risen  by  his  merits  to  the  rank 
of  a  lieutenant-colonel,  not  in  Col.  Putnam's  regiment,  but 
in  Col.  Ichabod  Alden's,  of  the  Massachusetts  line. 

The  first  of  July,  that  year,  the  Indians  and  Tories  sacked 
and  destroyed  the  settlement  of  Wyoming,  on  the  Susque- 
hanna river.  They  now  threatened,  and  had  partly  de- 
populated, the  settlement  of  Cherry  valley,  which  lies  on 
the  head  waters  of  the  eastern  branch  of  that  stream,  fifty- 
two  miles  northwest  of  Albany,  in  the  present  county  of 
Otsego,  but  then  Tryon  county,  N.  Y.  It  was  a  beautiful  val- 
ley, noted  for  its  fertility  and  picturesque  scenery,  being  first 
settled  as  early  as  1739,  but  greatly  harassed  by  the  Tories, 
who  formed  nearly  half  of  the  inhabitants  of  that  county, 
and  were  friends  to  the  crown,  to  which  they  were  partly 
induced  from  the  popularity  and  high  standing  of  Sir  Guy 
Johnson,  who  lived  in  the  northern  part  of  the  county,  and 
probably  from  respect  to  the  governor  of  the  state  while 
under  the  king,  for  whom  it  was  named  Late  in  the  sum- 
mer of  1778,  Col.  Alden's  regiment  was  ordered  up  to 
Cherry  valley,  for  the  protection  of  the  inhabitants.  A 
stockaded  garrison  had  been  previously  built  around  their 
little  church,  and  the  regiment  of  about  two  hundred  men 
took  possession  of  it.  Being  rather  straitened  for  quarters, 
several  of  the  officers  lodged  at  the  houses  of  the  adjacent 
inhabitants.  Alden  and  Stacey,  with  a  small  guard  of  sol- 
diers, quartered  in  the  house  of  a  Mr.  Wells,  not  more  than 
a  quarter  of  a  mile  from  the  garrison.  On  the  6th  of  No- 
vember, Col.  Alden  received  a  letter  from  Fort  Schuyler,  now 
in  Oneida  county,  distant  about  forty  miles  northwest,  near 


404  WILLIAM    STAGEY. 

the  head  of  the  Mohawk,  saying  that  an  Oneida  Indian, 
whose  tribe  was  friendly  to  the  United  States,  had  told  them 
that  the  Indians  and  Tories,  under  a  son  of  Col.  Butler, 
were  assembling  on  the  Tioga  river,  a  northerly  branch  of 
the  Susquehanna,  which  passes  through  the  country  of  the 
Seneca  Indians,  for  the  purpose  of  attacking  the  fort  and 
settlement  of  Cherry  valley.  Butler  had  been  a  prisoner 
with  the  Americans,  and  confined  in  Albany  jail,  a  short 
time  before,  but  had  escaped,  and  was  now  seeking  revenge. 
Being  notified  of  this  intended  attack,  he  sent  out  scouting 
parties  to  watch  their  approach,  although  he  did  not  actually 
apprehend  any  danger,  even  after  this  timely  warning.  The 
inhabitants,  better  aware  of  their  peril,  made  application 
to  the  commander  to  be  admitted  within  the  fort,  but  as  it 
was  only  large  enough  for  his  own  men,  he  declined,  saying 
it  would  be  time  enough  when  they  were  certain  of  the  ap- 
proach of  the  enemy.  Being  unacquainted  with  Indian 
warfare,  he  did  not  take  shelter  within  the  fort  himself. 
The  scout,  which  was  sent  down  that  branch  of  the  river 
which  waters  the  valley,  having  kindled  a  fire,  were  surprised 
in  their  camp  and  taken  prisoners,  so  that  they  could  not 
give  the  alarm  of  the  advance  of  the  Indians  as  he  had 
expected.  From  these  prisoners,  Butler  and  Brant  learned 
the  condition  of  the  settlement  and  the  houses  where  the 
officers  slept,  being  themselves  familiar  and  acquainted  in 
the  valley  before  the  war. 

Early  on  the  morning  of  the  11th  of  November,  an  army 
of  five  hundred  Indians  and  two  hundred  Tories  entered  the 
settlement  undiscovered,  and  began  the  attack  on  the  scat- 
tered dwellings  near  the  fort.  Before  they  reached  Wells', 
the  house  where  he  quartered,  a  man  on  horseback  gave 
notice  of  their  approach.  He  was  still  persuaded  there  was 
only  a  small  body  of  Indians,  but  on  their  coming  in  sight 
he  directly  ran  for  the  fort,  closely  pursued  by  an  Indian, 


WILLIAM    STACEY.  405 

who  after  calling  on  him  to  surrender,  which  he  refused, 
snapping  his  pistol  at  him,  he  threw  his  tomahawk,  striking 
him  on  the  head  and  felling  him  to  the  ground.  The  Indian 
then  scalped  him,  "  and  thus  he  was  the  first  to  suffer  from 
his  criminal  neglect."*  Before  Col.  Stacey  could  leave  the 
house,  it  was  surrounded  by  the  Indians,  and  he  was  taken 
prisoner  with  a  few  of  the  guard,  while  all  the  women  and 
children  were  killed.  It  was  a  damp,  rainy  morning,  and 
the  powder  of  the  out-door  guards  was  wet,  so  that  their 
arms  were  useless,  which  was  one  reason  of  there  being  so 
little  resistance.  After  a  feeble  attack  on  the  fort,  they  de- 
parted with  their  scalps  and  prisoners,  killing  about  forty  of 
the  inhabitants.  Joseph  Brant,  who  commanded  the  Indians, 
saved  the  lives  of  a  number  of  families,  making  them  pris- 
oners, while  Butler  and  the  Tories  under  his  command, 
spared  very  few  that  fell  into  their  hands. 

The  Indians,  in  their  return  to  their  own  country  on  the 
Genesee  river,  passed  down  the  Cherry  valley  branch  of  the 
Susquehanna  to  its  junction  with  the  Tioga  fork,  and  up 
that  stream  over  to  the  Seneca  lake,  and  onward  to  an  In- 
dian town  that  stood  near  the  present  beautiful  village  of 
Geneva,  distant  more  than  two  hundred  miles,  by  the  route 
they  traveled,  from  Cherry  valley.  Here  the  revengeful 
savages  who  had  taken  Col.  Stacey  prisoner,  after  holding 
a  council,  decided  on  burning  him  at  the  stake.  It  has  for 
ages  been  the  practice  of  the  Indians  in  their  attacks,  to 
take  some  prisoners  for  this  purpose,  that  the  young  Indians 
and  squaws  may  share  in  their  revenge  on  their  enemies. 
Being  devoted  to  this  dreadful  death,  he  was  tied  to  the 
stake,  the  fire  kindled,  and  he  thought  his  last  hour  was 
come.  Seeing  the  noble-minded  Brant  in  the  throng,  and 
having  probably  heard  that  he  was  a  Freemason,  he  made 


*  Annals  of  Tryon  county. 


400  WILLIAM    STAGEY. 

the  well  known  sign  of  the  fraternity,  which  was  instantly 
recognized  by  the  quick  eye  of  the  Indian.  His  influence 
was  almost  unlimited  amongst  the  northern  tribes  of  New 
York,  and  he  persuaded  them  to  release  their  victim,  thus 
adding  one  more  to  the  number  of  lives  saved  by  his 
humanity. 

Soon  after  this  he  was  adopted  into  an  Indian  family.  At 
the  time  of  the  invasion  of  the  country  of  the  Senecas  in 
1779,  by  Gen.  Sullivan,  when  their  villages,  orchards,  and 
crops  of  corn,  were  totally  destroyed,  many  of  them  retreated 
to  Fort  Niagara,  then  in  the  hands  of  the  British.  Amongst 
others,  Col.  Stacey  was  taken  there  by  the  family  to  which 
he  was  attached.  While  here,  Mr.  Campbell,  the  author  of 
the  history  of  Tryon  county,  from  whom  some  of  these 
events  are  copied,  says,  "Lieut.  Col.  Stacey,  who  had  been 
taken  prisoner  at  Cherry  valley,  was  also  at  the  fort.  Molly 
Brant,  the  sister  of  Joseph,  and  former  mistress  of  Sir  Wil- 
liam Johnson,  had,  from  some  cause,  a  deadly  hostility  to 
him.  She  resorted  to  the  Indian  method  of  dreaming.  She 
told  Col.  Butler  that  she  dreamed  she  had  the  Yankee's  head, 
and  that  she  and  the  Indians  were  kicking  it  about  the  fort. 
Col.  Butler  ordered  a  small  keg  of  rum  to  be  painted  and 
given  to  her.  This,  for  a  short  time,  appeased  her,  but  she 
dreamed  a  second  time  that  she  had  the  Yankee's  head,  with 
his  hat  on,  and  she  and  the  Indians  kicked  it  about  the  fort 
for  a  foot  ball.  Col.  Butler  ordered  another  keg  of  rum  to 
be  given  to  her,  and  then  told  her,  decidedly,  that  Col.  Stacey 
should  not  be  given  up  to  the  Indians.  Apart  from  this 
circumstance,  I  know  nothing  disreputable  to  Molly  Brant. 
On  the  contrary,  she  appears  to  have  had  just  views  of  her 
duties.  She  was  careful  of  the  education  of  her  children, 
and  some  of  them  were  respectably  married. 

Col.  Stacey  remained  a  prisoner  over  four  years,  and  was 
then  exchanged.     He  returned  to  his  home  in  New  Salem, 


WILLIAM    ST  ACE  Y.  407 

and  in  1789  moved  with  his  family,  consisting  of  his  wife, 
five  sons,  and  a  son-in-law,  with  their  families,  to  the  Ohio, 
and  settled  in  Marietta.  Two  of  his  sons,  John  and  Phile- 
mon, joined  the  settlement  in  Big  Bottom,  formed  in  the  fall 
of  1790.  The  2d  of  January,  following,  the  block-house 
was  taken  by  surprise,  and  fourteen  of  the  inmates  were 
killed ;  amongst  the  slain  was  his  son  John,  while  Philemon, 
a  lad  of  sixteen  years,  was  taken  prisoner,  and  died  in  cap- 
tivity. Col.  Stacey  feeling  anxious  for  the  safety  of  the  new 
settlement,  and  the  welfare  of  his  sons, -visited  the  post  the 
day  before  the  attack ;  and  although  the  Indians  pretended 
to  be  friendly,  well  knowing  their  wiles  from  former  expe- 
rience, gave  the  young  men  strict  orders  to  keep  a  regular 
guard,  and  strongly  bar  the  door  of  the  house  at  sunset, 
and  not  open  it  again  until  sunrise,  even  although  it  was 
the  depth  of  winter.  They  neglected  his  advice,  and  per- 
ished. During  the  war  he  lived  in  a  small  block-house, 
at  the  Point  in  Marietta,  on  the  bank  of  the  Ohio,  and  is 
figured  in  the  drawing  of  that  place,  in  the  preceding  vol- 
ume. He  had  the  charge  of  overseeing  the  construction  of 
these  works  in  January,  1791.  His  remaining  sons  and  son- 
in-law  settled  in  this  county,  and  left  a  numerous  posterity, 
who  still  reside  here.  His  youngest  son,  Gideon,  settled  in 
New  Orleans,  and  established  a  ferry  across  Lake  Pontchar- 
train,  and  was  there  lost. 

After  the  death  of  his  first  wife,  Col.  Stacey  married  Mrs. 
Sheffield,  a  widow  lady  from  Rhode  Island,  and  owned  four 
shares  of  land  in  the  Ohio  Company.  She  was  the  mother  of 
the  wife  of  Maj.  Zeigler,  Mr.  Charles  Green,  and  Isaac  Pierce, 
Esq.,  a  woman  of  highly  cultivated  mind,  lady-like  manners, 
and  agreeable  person. 

He  died  in  Marietta,  in  the  year  1804,  and  was  a  man 
greatly  esteemed  for  his  many  excellent  qualities. 


THE  FIRST  SETTLEMENT  OF  ATHENS  COUNTY, 

WITH  BIOGRAPHICAL  NOTICES  OF  SOME 

OF  THE  EARLY  SETTLERS. 

BY    EPHRAIM    CUTTER,   ESQ. 

The  Indian  war,  which  was  brought  to  a  close  by  the 
treaty  of  Greenville,  in  August,  1795,  had  caused  an  almost 
entire  stop  to  the  wave  of  population,  which,  by  the  settle- 
ment of  Marietta  and  Cincinnati,  had  begun  to  swell  and 
move.  It  was  not  until  1797  and  1798,  that  the  symptoms 
of  what  has  astonished  the  whole  civilized  world,  began 
again  to  appear  in  the  west.  In  those  years,  that  kind  of 
boats  to  which  the  pioneers  gave  the  cognomen  of  broad- 
horns,  were  seen  continually  floating  down  the  Ohio.  Many 
of  these  contained  the  families  of  persons  of  strong,  adven- 
turous minds,  and  hardy  frames,  but  generally  of  little  or 
no  property.  They  of  course  sought  for  opportunities  to 
locate  themselves  on  lands  that  they  could  obtain  on  easy 
terms. 

In  the  early  part  of  1797,  Marietta  was  crowded  with 
this  kind  of  population,  seeking  for  some  place  to  make  a 
home.  It  is  well  known  that  in  the  purchase  of  the  Ohio 
Company's  lands,  they  made  it  a  condition  that  two  town- 
ships of  land  should  be  conveyed  which  were  to  be  forever 
for  the  use  and  benefit  of  a  university.  These  lands  were 
in  the  trust  of  the  directors  of  the  Ohio  Company,  and  were 
thus  to  remain  until  they  should  resign  that  trust  to  the 
future  Legislature.  Gen.  Putnam,  who  was  the  superin- 
tendent of  the  surveys  of  the  land  of  the  Ohio  Company, 
had  these  two  townships  surveyed  into  sections  in  1796. 


SETTLEMENT    OF    ATHENS    CO  13  N  T  Y  .  409 

The  trustees  were  convinced  that  it  would  be  good  policy  to 
early  make  these  lands  productive,  and  thus  provide  a  fund 
to  commence  an  institution,  which  they  foresaw  would  soon 
be  much  needed,  and  if  established,  promised  most  import- 
ant results.  They  believed  that  the  public  interest  would  be 
served  by  encouraging  substantial  men  to  occupy  these 
lands,  make  improvements,  and  wait  until  a  more  perma- 
nent title  could  be  made  to  them  by  an  act  of  Legislature, 
which,  it  was  expected,  would  soon  (as  was  the  case,)  be 
acquired  as  the  second  step  provided  for  by  the  ordinance 
of  1789,  providing  for  the  government  of  the  territory  north- 
west of  the  river  Ohio. 

These  lands,  with  a  large  surrounding  region,  were  one 
of  the  most  favorite  portions  of  the  hunting  ground  which 
the  Indians  had  surrendered  in  their  several  treaties ;  and 
the  treaty  of  1795  seemed  to  close  the  last  fond  hope  of 
ever  after  enjoying  them.  Yet  the  hunters  living  about 
Sandusky,  and  on  the  different  branches  of  the  Muskingum, 
continued  not  only  to  visit  there,  but  until  the  winter  before 
the  last  war  with  Great  Britain  commenced,  they  were  in 
large  parties  during  the  hunting  season,  coursing  through 
that  extensive  range  of  country,  comprising  the  lands  watered 
by  the  Raccoon,  Monday,  Sunday,  and  the  heads  of  Federal 
creek.  It  was  here  they  formerly  found  the  buffalo,  the 
elk,  and  the  bear.  The  buffalo  and  elk  were  not  extermi- 
nated until  the  year  1800.  The  bear  continued  in  consid- 
erable abundance  until  their  last  great  hunt  in  the  winter 
of  1810-11.  That  winter  was  a  favorable  season  for  them 
to  effect  the  object  they  seemed  to  have  in  view,  which  was 
to  destroy  the  game,  the  weather  being  cold,  with  several 
falls  of  snow.  The  carcasses  of  many  deer  were  found  in 
the  woods  bordering  the  settlements  in  Washington  and 
Athens  counties,  which  appeared  to  be  wantonly  destroyed 
by  the  savages.     A  young  buffalo,  believed  to  be  the  last 


410  SETTLEMENT    OF    ATHENS    COUNTY. 

seen  in  this  part  of  the  country,  was  taken  a  few  miles  west 
of  Athens,  on  a  branch  of  liaccoon,  in  the  spring  of  1799, 
brought  to  the  settlement,  and  reared  by  a  domestic  cow. 
The  summer  after  it  was  two  years  old,  it  was  taken  by  its 
owner  over  the  mountains,  and  for  a  considerable  time  ex- 
hibited from  place  to  place.  At  first  it  was  easily  managed, 
but  at  length  became  ungovernable,  and  gored  its  owner, 
who  died  of  the  wounds,  and  the  animal  was  then  killed. 

Gen.  Putnam  probably  would  not,  at  this  time,  have  en- 
couraged the  commencement  of  this  settlement,  had  he  not 
foreseen  that  these  larfds  would  soon  be  occupied,  and  that 
it  was  important,  in  order  to  establish  a  peacable  and  re- 
spectable settlement,  to  select,  from  the  emigrants  already 
at  Marietta,  men  possessing  firmness  of  character,  courage, 
and  sound  discretion.  He  accordingly  gave  every  facility 
in  his  power,  relating  to  the  surveys,  &c,  to  Capt.  Silas 
Bingham,  Judge  Alvin  Bingham,  John  Wilkins,  Esq.,  Capt. 
John  Chandler,  John  Harris,  Robert  Lindsey,  Jonathan  Wat- 
kins,  Moses  Hewit,  Isaac  Barker,  William  Harper,  Barak. 
Edmond  and  William  Dorr,  and  Dr.  Eliphaz  Perkins.  Some 
of  these  individuals,  with  their  families,  and  some  others, 
made  their  way  up  the  Hockhocking,  in  pirogues,  early  in . 
the  spring  of  1797 ;  and  were  the  first  in  felling  the  inter- 
minable forest,  and  to  erect  dwellings.  Immediately  after 
the  settlement  commenced,  as  was  anticipated,  large  num- 
bers came  to  take  possession  of  these  lands,  many  of  whom 
seemed  disposed  to  practice  the  principle  that,  might  makes 
right ;  this  soon  occasioned  a  state  of  things  which  required 
much  courage  and  prudence  to  counteract.  Alvin  Bingham 
was  commissioned  a  magistrate,  and  Silas  was  appointed  a 
deputy-sheriff.  The  cases  of  taking  forcible  possession  of 
the  land  and  improvements  had  commenced,  and  it  required 
no  common  share  of  prudence  and  firmness  to  keep  the 
peace,  and  give  an  effectual  check  to  these  outrages.     Add 


SETTLEMENT    OP   ATHENS    COUNTY.  411 

to  these,  a  Canadian  Frenchman,  by  the  name  of  Menour, 
who  had  resided  with  the  Indians,  was  in  the  habit  of  steal- 
ing horses  from  the  savages,  and  bringing  them  into  the  set- 
tlement, on  the  college  lands,  where  he  had  men  ready  to 
take  them  and  convey  them  away  to  some  settled  region, 
and  dispose  of  them.  The  Indians  found  no  difficulty  in 
tracing  their  horses  to  this  point,  but  could  follow  them  no 
further.  They,  of  course  with  great  justice,  made  their 
complaints.  Menour  had  collected  around  him  quite  a  num- 
ber who  were  well  armed,  and  showed  a  determination  to 
defend  him.  Judge  Bingham  issued  a  warrant  for  his  ap- 
prehension, and  intrusted  it  with  Silas,  who  made  an 
attempt  to  perform  his  duty,  but  found  quite  a  party  of  des- 
perate characters  in  arms  to  protect  him.  He  very  adroitly 
retired;  giving  out  the  idea,  that  he  should  not  venture  to 
arrest  him,  unless  he  could  obtain  assistance  from  Marietta. 
Menour's  house  was  a  strong  building  for  those  times ;  the 
only  access  to  the  chamber  was  a  small  opening  in  the  ga- 
ble-end. Menour  and  his  wife,  who  used  it  for  a  lodging 
room,  ascended  a  ladder,  then  drew  it  up  after  them,  and 
closed  the  aperture.  The  lower  part  of  the  house  was,  at 
this  time,  occupied  by  a  large  party  of  desperate  men,  horse- 
thieves,  and  outlaws,  who  slept  on  their  rifles,  and  were 
ready  at  any  moment  to  do  their  leader's  bidding.  In  the 
meantime,  Bingham,  with  the  utmost  secrecy  and  dispatch, 
collected  the  well-disposed  citizens  of  Athens  and  Ames, 
and  proceeded  that  night  to  make  the  arrest.  The  night 
was  very  dark,  and  they  approached  and  surrounded  the 
house,  without  being  discovered  by  its  inmates.  E.  Cutler 
burst  open  the  door,  and  the  citizens  rushed  in  upon  the  des- 
peradoes, and  secured  them  before  they  were  fairly  awake. 
Robert  Lindsey  and  Edmond  Dorr  broke  into  the  opening 
that  formed  the  entrance  to  the  chamber,  and  captured  Me- 
nour; who  was  taken  to  Marietta,  where  he  was  convicted 


412  SETTLEMENT    OF    ATHENS    COUNTY. 

of  the  offense,  on  the  testimony  of  the  Indians,  and  pun- 
ished ;  he,  however,  afterward  went  to  Sandusky,  and  it  was 
said,  was  there  killed  by  an  Indian. 

Judge  Bingham  was  not  lax  in  punishing  breaches  of  the 
peace.  Some  cases  of  forcible  entry  and  detainer  took  place, 
which  required  a  jury  and  two  magistrates  to  decide  them; 
and  at  this  time  there  were  but  two  in  this  portion  of  the 
country,  Judges  Bingham  and  Cutler.  These  cases  some- 
times showed  a  threatening  aspect;  a  certain  number  of 
disorderly  persons  were  always  ready  to  attend  such  courts. 
At  one  of  these  trials  the  leaders  of  this  class  came  forward, 
and  threatened  violence;  the  magistrates  ordered  them  to 
leave  the  room ;  they  retired ;  but  expressed  an  intention  to 
put  a  stop  to  such  courts.  The  magistrates  issued  warrants, 
and  ordered  the  sheriff  to  apprehend  them  immediately,  and 
take  them  to  Marietta.  He  was  not  slow  in  arresting  them. 
It  is  not  easy  to  conceive  of  men  more  frightened ;  the  idea 
of  being  taken  to  Marietta,  to  be  tried  by  a  court  that  had 
established  its  character  for  firmness  and  strict  justice,  filled 
them  with  terror.  Silas  Bingham,  (who,  to  great  shrewdness 
and  dispatch  in  business,  united  an  unconquerable  love  of 
fun,)  did  nothing  to  allay  their  fears,  but  told  them  the  bet- 
ter way  would  be  to  come  into  court,  and,  on  their  knees, 
ask  forgiveness,  and  promise  amendment.  The  prominent 
man  of  the  offending  party  replied,  that  "  it  was  too  bad  to 
be  compelled  to  kneel  down,  and  ask  forgiveness  of  two 
Buckeye  justices;"  but  he  would  submit  rather  than  be 
taken  to  Marietta.  This  anecdote  was  often  repeated  by 
the  facetious  Col.  Sproat  and  Bingham,  and  might  have 
aided  in  fixing  the  cognomen  on  the  state. 

The  Binghams  were  natives  of  Litchfield  county,  Conn., 
and  although  quite  young,  they  were  volunteers  at  the  cap- 
ture of  Ticonderoga,  by  Ethan  Allen,  in  1775.  Silas  was 
with  the  army  which  invaded  Canada,  and  both  served  most 


SETTLEMENT    OF    ATHENS    COUNTY.  413 

of  the  time  during  the  Revolutionary  war.  Judge  Bingham 
was  a  substantia],  clear-headed  man,  sober  and  dignified  in 
his  manners,  stern  and  uncompromising  in  his  sense  of  right. 
Silas  was  full  of  anecdote  and  humor,  social  and  kind  in  his 
feelings,  a  man  of  excellent  sense,  and  a  terror  to  evil  doers. 
The  promptness  with  which  these  men  acted  in  enforcing 
the  laws  and  in  protecting  the  rights  of  the  weak,  had  the 
effect  to  rid  the  settlement  of  a  large  portion  of  this  disor- 
derly population;  and  Athens,  many  years  ago,  established 
its  character  as  an  orderly  and  respectable  community,  em- 
bracing as  much  intelligence  and  refinement,  as  any  other 
town  of  equal  size.  For  this  happy  result,  it  was  in  no 
small  degree  indebted  to  Dr.  Eliphaz  Perkins.  Few  men 
were  better  calculated  to  introduce  a  mild  and  refined  state 
of  manners  and  feelings.  He  was  a  native  of  Norwich, 
Conn.,  born  in  1753,  graduated  at  an  eastern  college,  and 
removed  to  Athens  in  1800,  the  time  when  a  disposition  to 
trample  on  the  laws  prevailed.  The  services  of  a  physician 
were  greatly  needed  in  the  settlement,  and  his  arrival  was 
hailed  with  joy.  By  his  attention  to  the  sick,  skill  in  his 
profession,  and  by  his  urbanity  and  kindness,  he  at  once  be- 
came popular.  The  influence  thus  acquired,  he  exerted  in 
the  most  salutary  and  unostentatious  manner,  while  he 
frowned  upon  every  breach  of  law  and  decorum.  His  own 
deportment  was  a  bright  and  living  example  of  purity  and 
benevolence.  He  was  truly  a  patron  of  learning.  He  did 
much  to  establish  and  sustain  common  schools  in  that  region. 
He  contributed  liberally  to  the  Ohio  University,  was  early 
appointed  a  trustee,  and  for  many  years  was  treasurer  of 
the  institution.  He  died,  much  lamented,  on  the  29th  of 
April,  1828,  in  the  lively  exercise  of  that  Christian  faith  of 
which  he  had  been  many  years  a  professor.  His  descend- 
ants are  numerous  and  highly  respectable ;  seven  of  them 
have  graduated  at  the  Ohio  University. 


414  JERVIS    CUTLER. 

Soon  after  the  settlement  of  Athens  and  Ames,  the  ven- 
erable Elder  Quinn,  then  a  young  man,  found  his  way 
through  the  wilderness,  with  little  more  than  blazed  trees  to 
guide  his  steps,  induring  like  a  true  soldier  of  the  cross,  ex- 
treme toil  and  privation.  He  may  be  regarded  as  the 
founder  of  the  Methodist  church  in  that  county. 


MAJ.    JERVIS    CUTLER. 

"  Maj.  Jervis  Cutler  was  the  son  of  the  Rev.  Manassch 
Cutler,  who  for  fifty-two  years  was  pastor  of  the  Congre- 
gational church  in  Hamilton,  Mass.  He  was  also  the  ne- 
gotiator with  Congress  in  the  year  1787,  for  the  purchase 
of  a  million  and  a  half  of  acres  for  the  Ohio  Company,  by 
means  of  which  the  settlement  of  the  now  great  state  of 
Ohio  was  effected.  From  the  year  1800  to  1804,  Dr.  Cutler 
was  a  representative  in  Congress  from  the  Lynn  district  in 
Massachusetts. 

Maj.  Cutler  was  born  at  Edgarton,  on  Martha's  Vineyard, 
in  the  year  1768.  Being  educated  for  the  mercantile  busi- 
ness, he  was  placed,  at  the  age  of  sixteen  years,  under  the 
care  of  Capt.  David  Pearce,  of  Gloucester,  who  sent  him 
on  a  voyage  to  Havre  de  Grace,  in  France.  If  the  father 
deserves  the  credit  of  paving  the  way  for  the  settlement  of 
this  then  savage  wilderness,  the  son  is  entitled  to  be  con- 
sidered a  pioneer  of  the  settlement  itself.  In  the  year 
1788,  when  only  nineteen  years  old,  he  joined  the  little 
band  of  forty-eight,  who  emigrated  from  New  England, 
under   Gen.    Ru.fus   Putnam,   and    pitched    their    tents   at 


' 


LIBRARY 

OF  THE 
UNIVERSITY  OF  ILLINOIS 


JERVJS    CUTLER.  415 

Marietta,  in  the  center  of  the  Indian  country.  He  has  been 
often  heard  to  say  that  he  was  the  first  to  leap  on  shore  at 
the  mouth  of  the  Muskingum,  on  the  seventh  of  April,  and 
actually  cut  the  first  tree  to  make  a  clearing  for  a  habita- 
tion in  the  new  settlement.  Of  that  little  band  of  hardy 
pioneers,  not  more  than  one  or  two  are  now  living."  *  The 
following  summer  he  taught  a  school  about  four  miles  from 
Simrel's  ferry,  on  the  Youghiogheny  river,  and  was  there 
when  his  father  made  his  visit  to  Marietta  in  August,  1788. 
In  1789  he  returned  to  Marietta,  and  aided  in  forming  the 
settlement  of  Waterford,  being  one  of  the  first  associates, 
but  did  not  long  remain  there. 

In  the  autumn  of  that  year  he  joined  a  party  of  the  Ohio 
Company  land  surveyors,  not  as  a  regular  hand,  but  out  of 
curiosity  to  see  the  country,  who  were  running  the  east  and 
west  township  lines  of  the  fourteenth  and  fifteenth  ranges, 
between  the  Big  Hockhocking  and  Raccoon  creek.  It  con- 
sisted of  twelve  men,  of  whom  Daniel  Mayo,  of  Boston, 
was  one,  and  Benoni  Hurlburt,  afterward  killed  by  the  Indi- 
ans, was  the  hunter.  The  following  interesting  sketch  of 
his  being  lost  in  the  woods,  was  taken  from  his  own  lips, 
about  three  years  before  his  death,  and  is  a  specimen  of  the 
exposures  to  which  the  early  settlers  were  all  liable. 

Having  quite  a  relish  for  hunting,  and  expert  with  the 
rifle,  he  one  day  went  out  with  Hurlburt  in  quest  of  provis- 
ions for  the  party,  whose  supply  was  nearty  exhausted.  He 
ascended  one  side  of  a  large  creek,  and  his  companion  the 
other,  which  would  give  them  a  chance  for  mutual  assist- 
ance in  killing  the  game,  as  it  crossed  from  bank  to  bank. 
Mr.  Cutler,  not  being  accustomed  to  the  woods,  presently 
left  the  main  stream,  and  followed  up  a  large  branch.  He 
soon  discovered  his  mistake,  and  retraced  his  steps,  but 


*  American  Almanac,  1845. 


416  JERVIS    CUTLER. 

could  find  no  signs  of  his  trail.  Just  at  night  he  met  a  fine 
bear,  which  he  shot  at  and  wounded.  A  small  dog,  now 
his  only  companion,  gave  it  chase,  but  as  the  bear  declined 
taking  a  tree,  as  they  usually  do,  he  soon  gave  up  the  pur- 
suit. Finding  that  he  was  actually  lost,  he  fired  his  gun 
several  times,  in  hopes  the  party  would  hear  it  and  answer 
his  signal  of  distress.  Night  now  rapidly  approaching,  he 
prepared  to  encamp,  and  selected  a  dead,  dry  beech-tree, 
the  top  of  which  was  broken  off  about  twenty  feet  from  the 
ground,  against  which  he  kindled  the  fire.  He  laid  down 
on  some  leaves  before  it,  and  being  excessively  tired, 
dropped  into  a  sound  sleep.  The  flame  soon  ran  to  the  top 
of  the  dry  beech,  and  a  large  flake  of  the  burning  wood, 
aided  by  the  current  of  air,  dropped  on  to  the  breast  of  his 
hunting-shirt,  burning  his  skin  severely.  With  some  effort 
he  succeeded  in  extinguishing  his  burning  garment,  and 
slept  at  intervals  during  the  night.  He  rose  at  daylight, 
directing  his  course  eastwardly,  with  the  hope  of  striking 
the  Hockhocking,  which  he  knew  lay  in  that  direction.  All 
that  day  he  traveled  diligently,  with  the  little  dog  by  his  side, 
without  discovering  the  object  of  his  search.  That  night  he 
encamped  near  a  small  stream  of  water,  but  without  fire,  as 
he  dreaded  a  repetition  of  the  last  night's  accident;  besides, 
he  had  nothing  to  cook  for  supper,  and  the  weather  was  not 
cold.  The  night  was  passed  quietly,  with  the  little  dog  coiled 
up  at  his  feet.  The  third  morning  he  started  early,  and  saw 
many  signs  of  buffaloes,  but  no  animals;  and  traveled  all 
day  without  seeing  any  game.  Toward  evening  the  little 
dog,  which  seemed  aware  of  his  master's  necessities  as  well 
as  his  own,  ranged  either  to  the  right  or  left  of  the  course, 
in  search  of  game;  and  toward  night,  barked  vehemently 
at  something  he  had  discovered.  Mr.  Cutler  hastened  up 
to  the  spot  in  expectation  of  at  least  seeing  a  fat  bear,  but 
only  found  a  little,  poor,  starved  opossum.     Thinking  this 


JERVIS    CUTLER.  417 

better  than  no  meat,  he  killed  and  dressed  it,  roasting  it  by 
his  camp  fire.  A  part  of  it  was  offered  to  the  dog,  but  he 
declined  partaking  such  poor  fare,  and  his  master  consumed 
the  whole  of  it.  It  was  now  three  days  since  he  left  his 
companions,  and  this  was  his  only  meal.  On  the  fourth 
morning,  after  a  sound  night's  sleep  by  his  fire,  he  felt  quite 
refreshed,  and  pushed  manfully  onward,  as  he  thought  on  an 
easterly  course,  but  doubtless  making  many  deviations  from 
a  right  line.  Soon  after  getting  under  way,  his  faithful 
companion  started  up  a  flock  of  turkeys,  the  sight  of  which 
greatly  animated  his  spirits.  His  gun  was  soon  leveled  and 
discharged  at  one  of  the  largest,  not  more  than  thirty  feet 
distant.  In  the  agitation  and  eagerness  of  the  moment,  he 
missed  his  mark,  and  the  bird  flew  unharmed  away,  much 
to  the  chagrin  of  the  little  dog,  which  looked  quite  astonished 
and  mortified  at  his  master.  His  first  impression  was  that 
his  gun  had  been  bent  or  injured,  and  would  not  shoot  with 
any  accuracy.  Despair  now  succeeded  to  his  recent  joy,  as 
he  thought  he  must  inevitably  starve  before  he  could  escape 
from  the  woods.  After  shedding  a  few  tears  over  his  hopeless 
condition,  and  resting  awhile  on  a  log,  he  carefully  wiped 
out  his  rifle  and  loaded  it  with  great  nicety.  In  the  mean- 
time the  turkeys  had  all  disappeared  but  a  solitary  one, 
perched  on  the  top  of  a  high  tree.  He  now  rested  his  gun 
against  the  side  of  a  tree,  and  taking  deliberate  aim,  he 
fired  once  more,  and  to  his  great  joy  the  turkey  came 
tumbling  to  the  ground.  A  fire  was  soon  kindled,  the 
feathers  pulled,  and  the  bird  roasted  on  the  coals.  A 
hearty  meal  was  then  made,  of  which  the  little  dog  now 
readily  partook.  This  food  was  the  sweetest  he  had  ever 
tasted,  and  put  fresh  courage  into  the  wanderers.  The 
remains  of  the  turkey  were  stowed  away  in  the  bosom  of 
his  hunting- shirt,   and  he  pursued  his   solitary  way  more 

cheerfully.     Soon  after,  in  passing  up  a  ridge,  a  fine  deer 
27 


418  JERVIS    CUTLER. 

came  round  the  point  of  the  hill,  which  he  shot.  From  the 
skin  of  the  animal  he  formed  a  kind  of  sack,  which  he  slung 
to  his  shoulders,  with  strips  of  leatherwood  hark,  filled  with 
the  choicest  pieces  of  the  meat.  lie  now  traveled  on  quite 
cheerily,  in  which  the  little  dog  also  participated,  knowing 
he  had  food  for  several  days,  or  until  he  could  reach  the 
settlements.  That  night  he  camped  by  the  side  of  a  little 
run,  made  a  cheerful  fire,  roasted  his  venison,  and  ate  his 
supper  with  a  fine  relish.  After  sleeping  soundly,  he  awoke 
with  renovated  strength  and  spirits.  This  was  now  the  fifth 
day  of  his  wandering,  and  luckily,  a  little  before  noon,  he 
came  on  to  the  Hockhocking,  at  a  place  which  he  at  once 
recognized  as  being  about  a  mile  and  a  half  below  the 
point  from  which  the  surveying  party  had  started  out  on 
their  work.  He  felt  so  much  animated  at  the  successful 
termination  of  this  adventure,  that  instead  of  going  down 
stream  to  the  cabin  of  John  Levins,  seven  miles  below,  he 
determined  to  go  up  to  the  line  of  the  surveyors,  and  follow 
that  until  he  found  them.  It  was  easily  distinguished  by 
the  blazes,  or  marks  on  the  trees,  and  before  night  reached 
the  camp  they  had  left  two  weeks  before,  and  found  a  little 
fire  still  smoking  in  a  ury  sugar  tree,  which  retains  fire 
longer  than  any  other  wood.  Feeling  weary  and  low  spir- 
ited, he  proceeded  no  further  that  night,  but  slept  on  the 
old  camping  ground.  In  the  morning,  knowing  where  he 
was,  and  freed  from  the  harassing  feelings  known  only  to 
those  who  have  been  lost  in  the  woods,  he  started  with 
fresh  vigor  on  the  trace.  His  little  companion  seemed  to 
understand  their  more  hopeful  condition,  and  capered  along 
ahead,  barking  heartily  for  joy.  He  now  killed  as  much 
game  as  he  needed,  without  leaving  the  trail,  and  on  the 
eighth  day  of  his  solitary  ramble,  came  up  with  the  sur- 
veyors. There  was  great  joy  in  the  party  at  meeting  their 
lost  companion,  but  as  they  supposed  he  had  gone  back  to 


JERVIS    CUTLER.  419 

the  settlement,  not  being  a  regular  hand,  they  were  not  so 
much  alarmed  at  his  long  absence. 

Soon  after  this  adventure  he  returned  to  New  England, 
and  resided  for  some  time  with  his  brother  Ephraim,  at  Kil- 
lingly,  Conn.,  where  he  married  Miss  Philadelphia  Cargill, 
the  daughter  of  Benjamin  Cargill,  who  owned,  at  that  time, 
valuable  mills  on  the  Quinebog  river,  the  site  of  the  present 
Wilkinson  factories  and  village  in  Pomfret.  His  roving  pro- 
pensities led  him  to  spend  some  months  in  Carolina  and 
Virginia ;  but  his  brother  having  removed  to  Ohio,  he  came 
again  to  Marietta,  in  the  year  1802,  with  the  intention  of 
establishing  a  tin  manufactory ;  but  meeting  with  little  en- 
couragement at  that  early  day,  he  went  to  Chillicothe,  and 
finally  established  himself  at  Bainbridge,  on  Paint  creek, 
and  engaged  in  the  fur  trade. 

In  the  years  1806  and  1807  there  was  great  excitement 
respecting  Louisiana,  and  Aaron  Burr's  expedition ;  the  mi- 
litia were  organized,  and  he  was  elected  a  major  in  Col. 
McArthur's  regiment.  His  fine  personal  appearance,  and 
some  experience  in  military  affairs  in  Connecticut,  enabled 
him  to  fill  the  post  with  great  credit.  When  additional  troops 
were  raised  for  the  purpose  of  taking  possession  of  New  Or- 
leans, he  received  the  appointment  of  captain,  and  soon 
enlisted  a  full  company  of  men.  He  was  stationed  at  New- 
port, Ky.,  and  for  some  time  had  the  command  of  the  post  at 
that  place.  In  the  spring  of  1809  he  was  ordered,  with  his 
company,  to  New  Orleans.  A  French  gentleman,  engaged 
in  the  fur  trade  on  the  Missouri,  and  toward  the  Rocky 
mountains,  was  taken  on  board  his  boat,  as  they  descended 
the  Mississippi,  as  a  passenger.  Being  able  to  speak  the 
French  language  fluently,  he  obtained  from  him  much  val- 
uable information,  which  he  carefully  noted  down,  respect- 
ing these  regions.  In  1812  he  published  a  work,  being  a 
a  topographical  description  of  that  country,  including  much 


420  JEllVIS    CUTLER. 

of  Ohio,  with  an  account  of  the  Indian  tribes  residing  therein. 
His  two  subaltern  officers,  Jessup  and  Cutler,  have  since 
attained  the  rank  of  general  officers  in  the  army  of  the 
United  States.  At  New  Orleans  he  had  a  severe  attack  of 
yellow  fever,  which  reduced  his  strength  and  health  so  much, 
that  he  left  the  army,  and  returned  to  New  England,  where 
he  remained  until  1818,  when  he  removed  his  family  to 
Warren,  near  Marietta.     Here  he  lost  Ms  wife,  in  1822. 

Two  years  after  he  married  Mrs.  Eliza  Chandler,  of  Evans- 
ville,  Indiana,  and  soon  after  moved  to  Nashville,  Tenn., 
where  he  was  engaged  in  engraving  copper-plates  for  bank 
notes,  for  the  banks  of  that  state,  and  for  Alabama.  He 
possessed  great  taste  for  the  fine  arts ;  sketched  remarkably 
well,  and  made  some  very  creditable  attempts  at  sculpture. 
With  much  versatility  of  talent,  he  lacked  that  singleness 
of  purpose,  and  perseverance  in  one  pursuit,  necessary  to 
success.  He  possessed  a  well  cultivated  mind,  and  was  an 
acute  observer  of  men  and  things. 

He  died  at  Evansville,  the  25th  of  June,  1844,  aged  sev- 
enty-six years. 


A    HISTORY    OF    THE    FIRST    SETTLEMENT    OF 

AMESTOWN,   IN    ATHENS    COUNTY,   OHIO, 

WITH    SKETCHES   OF   THE    EARLY 

INHABITANTS. 

BY    EPHRAIM    CUTLER. 

In  the  summer  of  1797,  Ephraim  Cutler,  the  proprietor  of 
several  shares  in  the  Ohio  Company's  purchase,  ascertain- 
ing that  a  considerable  amount  of  his  lands  were  situated 
on  the  waters  of  Federal  creek,  in  the  sixth  township  of  the 
thirteenth  range,  accompanied  by  Lieut.  George  Ewing,  ex- 
plored a  way  through  the  wilderness,  and  cut  out  a  pack- 
horse  path,  twenty  miles  in  length,  from  Waterford  to  Federal 
creek.  They  returned,  and  accompanied  by  Capt.  Benjamin 
Brown,  made  a  second  and  more  thorough  exploration. 
They  found  the  lands  exceedingly  fertile,  with  rich  limestone 
hills  and  valleys,  and  chestnut  ridges ;  which  afforded  a  plen- 
tiful supply  of  food  for  animals  of  every  description,  and 
promised  an  abundant  reward  to  the  labors  of  the  farmer. 
The  Indians  had  not  yet  quite  exterminated  the  buffalo  and 
elk ;  the  bear,  deer,  wolf,  and  panther  abounded,  while  the 
wild  turkeys  were  innumerable.  Mr.  Cutler  proposed  to  fur- 
nish them  with  land,  if  they  would  unite  with  him  in  form- 
ing a  settlement.  They  accordingly  made  their  selection ; 
and  about  the  1st  of  March,  1798,  Lieut.  Ewing  removed  his 
family,  and  in  April,  1799,  Cutler  and  Brown  went  over  to 
build  their  cabins,  and  make  preparation  for  the  accommo- 
dation of  their  families.  On  their  way  back  to  Waterford, 
they  found  Wolf  creek  impassable,  from  recent  heavy  rains. 


422  AMESTOWN. 

They  cut  a  large  bitter-nut  hickory  tree,  that  stood  on  the 
bank,  peeled  thirty  feet  of  bark  from  the  trunk,  sewed  up 
the  ends  with  leathenvood,  and  launched  it  upon  the  stream; 
when  themselves,  with  two  young  men,  who  accompanied 
them,  embarked  in  this  frail  vessel.  They  had  proceeded 
bnt  a  short  distance  down  stream,  when  they  discovered  a 
large  bear  on  the  bank  of  the  creek,  which  was  shot,  and 
taken  on  board.  This  Indian  canoe,  with  its  passengers 
and  freight,  performed  the  voyage  of  fifteen  miles,  to  Water- 
ford,  in  safety.  The  goods  and  furniture  of  the  two  families 
were  put  on  board  pirogues,  and  sent  down  the  Muskingum 
and  Ohio  rivers,  to  the  mouth  of  the  Big  Hockhocking  and 
up  that  stream  to  Federal  creek,  a  distance  of  eighty  miles ; 
while  the  women  and  children  were  taken  on  horseback, 
through  the  wilderness,  and  over  the  rough  hills,  to  their 
woodland  abodes.  The  creeks  were  much  swollen,  and  dif- 
ficult to  pass.  One  large  stream  was  crossed  on  a  raft  of 
drift-wood,  at  great  peril.  They  reached  the  place  of  des- 
tination on  the  6th  of  May.  About  the  year  1800,  Deacon 
Joshua  Wyatt  and  family,  with  Sylvanus  Ames  and  his  ac- 
complished and  intelligent  wife,  joined  them,  making  a  very 
pleasant  addition  to  the  little  colony.  Other  settlers  also 
came,  but  the  increase  was  small  until  1804. 

After  the  arrival  of  Deacon  Wyatt,  public  worship  on  the 
Sabbath  was  established,  by  reading  a  sermon,  and  prayer. 
The  settlers  very  early  entered  into  an  agreement,  not  to  use 
ardent  spirits  on  any  public  occasion,  such  as  raisings,  4th 
of  July,  &».;  which  was  strictly  adhered  to  for  several  years. 
Schools  of  an  elevated  character  were  soon  established. 
Two  gentlemen,  graduates  of  Harvard  University,  Moses 
Everett,  son  of  the  lie  v.  Moses  Everett,  of  Dorchester,  Mass., 
and  Charles  Cutler,  taught  successively  for  several  years. 
During  a  number  of  years,  the  youth  enjoyed  no  other  means 
of  acquiring  knowledge.     But  one  newspaper  was  taken, 


AMESTOWN.  423 

the  United  States  Gazette,  and  that,  except  by  accident,  did 
not  arrive  much  oftener  than  once  in  three  months. 

In  the  autumn  of  1804,  the  settlers  of  Dover,  Sunday 
creek,  and  Ames  were  convened  in  public  meeting,  to  devise 
means  to  improve  the  roads.  At  this  meeting  the  intellec- 
tual wants  of  the  settlement  became  a  subject  of  remark. 
In  their  isolated  position,  the  means  of  acquiring  informa- 
tion were  extremely  limited.  It  was  suggested  that  a  library 
would  supply  the  deficiency.  But  the  difficulty  of  obtaining 
money,  to  make  the  purchase  of  the  books,  presented  an 
insuperable  obstacle.  Josiah  True,  Esq.,  of  Dover,  proposed 
that  they  should  collect  furs,  and  send  on  to  Boston,  to  ef- 
fect the  object.  This  project  was  acceded  to  by  acclamation. 
The  young  men  of  the  colony  had  become  expert  hunters. 
Surrounded  by  a  vast  wilderness,  with  a  boundless  ocean 
of  woods  and  prairies,  inhabited  by  savages,  who  still  re- 
garded it  as  their  favorite  hunting  grounds,  their  fatherland , 
amidst  dangers  and  privations,  unknown  in  more  cultivated 
regions,  a  hardy  and  adventurous  character  was  early  devel- 
oped. John  Jacob  Astor  employed  agents  in  this  country, 
to  purchase  furs,  especially  bear  skins.  At  the  commence- 
ment of  winter,  the  bear  seeks  a  hollow  tree,  or  a  cavern 
amongst  the  rocks,  for  his  winter's  sleep.  The  entrance  of 
those  cavities  in  which  this  animal  takes  refuge,  is  generally 
small.  These  were  often  entered  by  the  hunters,  and  the 
bear  dispatched,  by  shooting,  or  stabbing  with  the  knife. 
In  one  instance  the  bear  being  wounded,  determined  to  sur- 
render his  fortress,  and  retreat.  The  young  man  who  had 
entered  the  narrow  aperture,  had  no  other  resource  than  to 
lie  flat  upon  his  face,  and  let  the  animal  squeeze  his  passage 
over  him.  At  the  outlet  of  the  den,  another  hunter  stood 
with  his  rifle,  and  shot  him  through  the  head ;  young  Brown 
soon  crawled  out,  covered  with  blood  from  the  wounded 


424  AMESTOWN. 

bear,  saying,  that  "  Bruin  had  given  him  a  harder  squeeze 
than  he  ever  had  before." 

In  order  to  obtain  the  proposed  library,  the  settlers, 
during  the  ensuing  winter,  procured  a  sufficient  quantity 
of  raccoon  and  other  skins  to  make  the  desired  purchase. 
Samuel  Brown,  Esq.,  who  was  returning  to  New  England 
that  spring  in  a  wagon,  took  charge  of  the  skins.  He  was 
furnished  with  letters  to  the  Rev.  Thaddeus  M.  Harris,  and 
the  Rev.  Dr.  Cutler,  who  accompanied  Mr.  Brown  to  Boston, 
and  selected  a  valuable  collection  of  books.  It  is  worthy 
of  note,  that  this  was  the  first  public  library  in  Ohio,  and  per- 
haps the  first  west  of  the  mountains,  and  certainly  was  the 
first  incorporated  in  the  state.  It  has  since  been  divided, 
after  accumulating  several  hundred  volumes,  and  part  taken 
to  Dover.  Both  branches  are  still  in  a  flourishing  condition. 
About  sixty  youth  have  been  reared  under  these  influences, 
and  gone  forth  to  the  world  with  fully  developed  physical 
powers,  uncorrupted  morals,  and  well  cultivated  minds ;  but 
as  most  of  them  are  now  in  active  life,  it  would  appear  in- 
vidious to  mention  them.  It  may  perhaps  be  proper  to  say 
that  ten  of  them  have  graduated  at  the  Ohio  University. 
Many  others  have  received  more  or  less  instruction  at  that 
institution.  Two  have  been  professors  in  colleges,  three 
ministers  of  the  gospel,  and  five  lawyers,  of  established 
reputation.  All  of  them  occupy  respectable,  and  many  of 
them  responsible  stations  in  society. 

The  Hon.  Ambrose  Rice,  son  of  Mr.  Jason  Rice,  of  Ames, 
attended  the  institution  at  Athens  in  its  earlier  stages.  He 
manifested  great  aptness  in  mathematical  science,  solving 
the  most  difficult  problems,  almost  by  intuition.  He  settled 
in  the  northwest  part  of  this  state,  where  he  occupied  sta- 
tions of  trust  and  profit.  His  reputation  as  a  man  of  pro- 
bity and  talent  was  high.     He  died  leaving  a  large  fortune. 


A  M  E  S  T  0  W  N  .  425 

The  first  physician  in  Ames  was  Dr.  Ezra  Walker,  a  na- 
tive of  Killingly,  Conn.    He  still  lives,  at  an  advanced  age. 

Mrs.  Cutler  was  a  woman  of  uncommon  fortitude  and 
great  excellence  of  character.  Though  in  feeble  health, 
and  reared  amidst  the  quiet  and  peaceful  scenes  of  a  New 
England  village,  she  never  shrunk  from  the  dangers  and 
hardships  of  frontier  life.  In  the  early  days  of  the  settle- 
ment the  Indians  were  in  the  habit  of  encamping  within  a 
mile  of  her  house.  Her  husband  was  obliged  to  be  absent 
four  times  in  a  year,  to  attend  the  courts  at  Marietta.  On 
one  of  these  occasions  several  Indians  came  to  her  house. 
Two  hired  men,  or  striplings,  being  alarmed,  caught  up 
their  guns  and  ran  over  to  Capt.  Brown's,  leaving  her 
and  the  children  unprotected.  One  of  the  Indians  ap- 
proached Mrs.  Cutler  with  threatening  gestures,  brandishing 
his  tomahawk,  and  pointed  to  a  decanter  of  brandy  upon  the 
cupboard.  She  knew  if  they  tasted  the  liquor  her  life  was 
in  danger.  With  the  spirit  of  a  veteran,  she  seized  the  fire- 
shovel  and  ordered  him  to  set  down  the  bottle  and  leave  the 
house.  The  Indian  told  her,  "She  was  brave  squaw;  he 
would  give  her  some  meat."  They  left  the  house  and  re- 
turned to  their  camp.  She  was  much  relieved  by  the  speedy 
arrival  of  Capt.  Brown,  who  came  immediately  on  hearing 
of  the  unwelcome  visit  of  the  Indians.  This  incident  is 
mentioned  to  show  the  trials  and  dangers  to  which  the  fe- 
males of  this  settlement  were  exposed.  She  was  a  member 
of  the  Congregational  church  in  Marietta,  and  an  exemplary 
Christian.     She  died  of  consumption,  in  1809. 

Mrs.  Wyatt  was  an  intelligent,  pious  woman.  Her  maiden 
name  was  Shaw.     She  died  some  years  after  Mrs.  Cutler. 

Mrs.  Ames  was  the  daughter  of  a  New  England  clergy- 
man. She  still  lives,  honored  and  cherished  by  her  numerous 
and  respectable  family. 

It  may  be  proper  to  give  some  sketch  of  the  lives  of  Lieut. 


426  AMESTOWN. 

Ewing  and  Capt.  Brown,  men  whose  history  belongs  to  that 
of  their  country.  It  was  the  efforts  of  such  men,  under 
the  blessing  of  God  on  their  labors  and  daring,  that  brought 
our  country  into  existence  as  a  distinct  nation  of  the  earth. 
They  have  already  been  mentioned  as  the  individuals  who 
first  commenced  the  settlement  at  Ames,  a  movement  which, 
considering  the  attendant  difficulties  and  perils,  required  no 
little  courage  and  perseverance.  It  seemed  like  plucking 
an  inheritance  from  the  mouth  of  the  lion,  situated  as  it 
was,  in  the  heart  of  the  Indian  hunting  grounds,  much  valued 
and  often  visited  by  them  in  large  parties  until  1812:  lit- 
erally a  frontier  settlement,  isolated  and  unsupported. 

Lieut.  George  Ewing  was  a  native  of  Salem  county,  N.  J., 
and  though  but  a  youth  at  the  commencement  of  the  Revo- 
lutionary war,  when  his  native  state  was  invaded,  and  the 
sound  of  battle  heard,  he  took  his  stand  to  defend  it  to  the 
last.  He  was  soon  noticed  for  his  bravery  and  good  con- 
duct, and  received  the  commission  of  a  first  lieutenant  in 
the  Jersey  line  of  the  army,  a  proud  mark  of  distinction 
thus  to  be  placed  in  that  noted  corps,  the  Jersey  Blues.  He 
continued  in  the  army  until  the  return  of  peace,  when  it 
was  disbanded.  He  soon,  with  his  wife  and  young  family, 
left  New  Jersey  for  the  west,  and  resided  a  few  years  near 
Wheeling,  Va.  In  1793,  with  other  families  of  that  vicinity, 
he  removed  to  Waterford,  the  frontier  settlement  on  the 
Muskingum,  in  the  midst  of  the  Indian  war.  They  were 
entitled  to  lands  on  the  tract  donated  by  Congress  to  those 
who,  at  that  period,  ventured  their  lives  to  defend  the 
frontiers  from  the  savage  foe,  and  made  a  selection  about 
four  miles  above  Fort  Frye,  at  the  mouth  of  Olive  Green 
creek,  on  the  bank  of  the  Muskingum  river.  They  prepared 
a  stockade  garrison,  to  which  they  removed,  and  commenced 
improving  their  lands.  The  Indians  watched  them  closely, 
and  one   of  their   number  was  killed  by  them,  but  with 


AMESTOWN.  427 

prudence  and  vigilance  they  maintained  their  post  without 
further  loss. 

As  a  member  of  the  new  settlement  of  Ames,*  Mr.  Ewing 
was  ever  ready  to  promote  schools,  the  library,  and  every 
measure  calculated  for  the  general  good.  He  was  fond  of 
reading;  was  intelligent;  possessed  a  fund  of  sterling  sense, 
combined  with  lively  wit  and  good  humor.  He  sometimes 
indulged  in  a  natural  propensity  for  poetic  and  sarcastic 
descriptions :  often  served  on  juries  at  the  freehold  courts, 
held  to  settle  the  conflicting  claims  on  the  college  lands  at 
Athens.  There  were  one  or  two  individuals  sometimes  em- 
ployed as  advocates,  demagogues,  who  frequently  made  sad 
havoc  with  the  king's  English.  He  could  not  help  versifying 
some  of  these  bombastic  speeches,  which  he  did  in  a  mas- 
terly manner,  but  always  in  a  vein  of  good  humor.  He 
finally  removed  to  Indiana,  and  died  about  the  year  1830. 
He  was  the  father  of  the  Hon.  Thomas  Ewing,  well  known 
for  his  talents  and  1he  public  stations  he  has  held. 


*The  name  of  the  township  was  suggested  by  Gen.  R.  Putnam,  in  honor  of 
Fisher  Ames,  of  Massachusetts.  It  is  now  one  of  the  richest  fanning  townships 
in  the  Ohio  Company's  purchase. 


CAPT.    BENJAMIN    BROWN.* 

Capt.  Benjamin  Brown  was  born  in  Leicester,  Worces- 
ter county,  Mass.,  on  the  17th  of  October,  1745.  He  was 
the  son  of  Capt.  John  Brown,  who  served  with  distinction 
among  the  colonial  troops  in  the  French  war,  and  before 
and  subsequently  to  the  Revolution,  for  twenty  years,  rep- 
resented the  town  of  Leicester  in  the  General  Court  of 
the  state.  His  grandfather,  William  Brown,  while  a  youth, 
came  from  England  to  America,  and  was  the  first  settler  in 
the  town  of  Hatfield,  on  the  Connecticut,  at  the  mouth  of 
Deerfield  river,  and  was  often  engaged  in  the  Indian  wars 
of  that  early  period.  The  maiden  name  of  his  mother  was 
Elizabeth  Jones,  a  near  relative  of  John  Coffin  Jones,  a  man 
somewhat  distinguished  during  and  after  the  Revolution. 
His  father's  family  was  large,  numbering  nineteen  children : 
five  by  a  former  wife. 

At  the  age  of  twenty-seven,  he  married  Jane  Thomas, 
who  survived  him,  and  died  at  Athens,  in  1840,  aged  eighty- 
six  years.  Soon  after  his  marriage  he  settled  on  a  farm  in 
the  town  of  Rowe,  then  in  the  northwest  corner  of  Hamp- 
shire county,  but  now  in  Franklin,  Mass. 

In  February,  1775,  he  connected  himself  with  a  regiment 
of  minute  men,  as  they  wTere  then  called,  commanded  by 
Col.  Barnard,  filling  the  post  of  quaster-master.  This  regi- 
ment, under  the  command  of  Lieut.  Col.  Williams,  of 
Northfield,  at  the  first  sound  of  war  at  Lexington,  marched 
to  Cambridge,  on  the  21st  of  April.     Here  he  received  a 


*  The  sketch  of  Capt.  Brown  was  furnished  by  his  grandsons,  G.  Brown  and 
Ephraim  Cutler,  Esqs. 


BENJAMIN    BROWN.  429 

lieutenant's  commission  in  Capt.  Maxwell's  company,  of 
Col.  Prescott's  regiment  and  Massachusetts  line,  in  which 
he  continued  until  December,  1776.  In  June,  1775,  he  was 
engaged  with  a  party  of  Americans  in  a  very  hazardous 
service,  removing  the  stock  from  Noddle's  island,  in  Boston 
bay,  to  prevent  their  falling  into  the  possession  of  the 
British,  and  also  in  burning  the  enemy's  packet,  Diana, 
ashore  on  Maiden  beach. 

He  took  an  active  part  in  the  battle  of  Bunker  hill,  on  the 
17th  of  June,  where  his  commander,  Col.  Prescott,  highly 
distinguished  himself  by  his  judicious  conduct  and  bravery. 
In  this  battle  his  oldest  brother,  John  Brown,  who  died  in 
Adams,  Washington  county,  Ohio,  in  1821,  aged  eighty- 
seven  years,  was  dangerously  wounded  in  two  places,  by 
musket  shots,  one  of  which  ranged  the  whole  length  of  his 
foot,  shattering  the  bones  in  a  dreadful  manner.  He  was 
borne  from  the  field  on  the  shoulders  of  his  brother  Pearly 
to  a  place  of  safety,  showing  the  rare  spectacle  of  three 
brothers  engaged  in  this  first  of  American  battles. 

After  the  evacuation  of  Boston,  in  March,  1776,  he  marched 
with  his  regiment  to  New  York,  and  was  present  in  several 
engagements  during  the  retreat  from  Long  Island.  At  the 
battle  of  White  Plains,  where  he  took  an  active  part,  his 
brother  Pearly  was  killed;  and  his  brother  William  died  in 
the  hospital  at  New  York.  On  the  1st  of  January,  1777, 
he  received  a  captain's  commission  in  the  eighth  regiment 
of  the  Massachusetts  line,  of  which  Michael  Jackson  was 
colonel,  and  John  Brooks,  afterward  governor  of  Massachu- 
setts, lieutenant- colonel,  and  William  Hall,  subsequently 
governor  of  Michigan,  major.  He  remained  in  this  regi- 
ment until  the  close  of  the  year  1779.  In  December,  1776, 
he  assisted  at  the  capture  of  Hackensack,  by  Gen.  Parsons. 
In  the  summer  of  1777,  his  regiment  was  ordered  to  Albany 
to  check  the  progress  of  the  enemy  under  Gen.  Burgoyne. 


430  BENJAMIN    BROWN. 

About  the  middle  of  August,  Col.  Jackson,  with  his  regi- 
ment, was  detached  with  a  body  of  troops  under  Genl 
Arnold,  to  raise  the  siege  of  Fort  Schuyler,  and  to  check  the 
advance  of  St.  Leger's  men  down  the  Mohawk  toward  Al- 
bany, of  which  there  was  great  apprehension,  after  the 
defeat  of  Gen.  Herkimer  at  Oriskany,  on  the  7th  of  August. 
On  his  arrival  at  the  German  flats,  he  received  information 
that  at  the  stone  house  of  Maj.  Tenbreck,  near  where  he 
was  encamped,  Maj.  Walter  Butler,  a  notorious  Tory  leader, 
had  hoisted  the  British  flag,  and  that  the  house  and  build- 
ings contained  a  large  amount  of  military  stores  and  pro- 
visions. Tenbreck  held  unlimited  sway  over  the  Tory 
inhabitants  of  that  region,  and  all  the  disaffected  were 
flocking  to  him  for  arms  and  provisions.  It  was  known  to 
be  a  place  of  great  strength,  and  in  addition  to  the  other 
difficulties,  it  was  said  that  Maj.  Butler  had  with  him  a  de- 
tachment of  British  troops,  besides  his  Tory  allies.  But  as 
it  was  of  great  importance  to  get  possession  of  these  two 
men,  it  was  decided  to  make  an  immediate  attack,  before 
they  were  aware  of  the  approach  of  their  enemies.  The 
colonel  selected  Capt.  Brown,  with  a  chosen  corps,  to  pro- 
ceed in  advance  a  little  before  the  break  of  day.  rfe 
marched  with  the  utmost  caution,  until  they  came  near  the 
house,  when,  halting  his  men,  he  silently  approached  the 
sentinel,  who,  on  his  duty,  advanced  a  few  rods  from  the 
door,  and  then  turning,  marched  back  toward  the  house. 
Brown  was  a  man  of  great  strength  and  activity,  and  as  he 
turned  round  he  sprang  upon  him,  securing  his  arms,  and 
ordered  his  men  to  surround  the  house.  He  then  with  sev- 
eral of  his  trusty  lads,  tore  some  heavy  rails  from  the 
fence,  and  using  them  as  battering-rams,  stove  in  the  stout 
door  and  entered  the  building.  He  there  met  the  two  ma- 
jors, who  surrendered  the  post  without  resistance,  and  when 
the  regiment  came  up  they  had  nothing  to  do  but  take 


BENJAMIN    BROWN.  431 

possession,  and  thus,  by  this  happy  device,  much  bloodshed 
was  prevented,  and  the  troops  proceeded  without  delay  to  the 
relief  of  Fort  Schuyler,  then  in  the  most  imminent  danger 
from  the  army  of  Indians  and  Tories  that  surrounded  the 
brave  Gansevort  and  his  gallant  companions.  On  the  ap- 
proach of  Arnold,  the  siege  was  raised,  and  the  garrison 
saved. 

Soon  after  this  event,  his  regiment  returned  to  the  vicinity 
of  Saratoga,  and  was  engaged  in  nearly  all  the  battles 
which  preceded  the  surrender  of  the  army  under  Gen.  Bur- 
goyne.  At  the  storming  of  the  German  redoubts,  on  the 
7th  of  October,  Capt.  Brown  was  eminently  distinguished. 
The  events  of  this  day  sealed  the  fate  of  the  British  troops. 
The  eighth  regiment,  under  Col.  Jackson,  led  the  attacking 
column.  Brown,  being  the  senior  captain,  commanded  the 
front  division;  on  approaching  the  redoubt,  he  found  an 
abatis  in  front  of  the  works,  formed  of  fallen  tree-tops. 
Being  a  man  of  uncommon  muscular  strength,  as  was  also 
his  armor-bearer,  or  covering-sergeant,  they  together  almost 
instantly  cleared  a  sufficient  opening  for  his  men,  and  were 
the  first  to  enter  the  redoubt.  In  doing  this  they  received 
the  full  fire  of  the  Germans,  which  killed  his  brave  sergeant, 
his  lieutenant,  and  several  privates;  but  he,  with  the  re- 
mainder, and  a  free  use  of  the  bayonet,  soon  drove  the  enemy 
from  the  works,  and  closed  this  important  day  in  triumph. 
Col.  Breyman,  the  commander  of  the  Germans,  was  killed 
in  this  redoubt,  and  from  concurrent  circumstances,  and  his 
own  confession,  it  is  quite  certain  that  he  lost  his  life  in  a 
personal  contest  with  Capt.  Brown,  as  he  entered  the  works. 

After  the  surrender  of  Burgoyne,  he  was  not  present  in 
any  important  battles,  but  was  with  the  army  until  his  resig- 
nation. The  station  of  aid-de-camp  to  Baron  Steuben,  was 
offered  to  him  a  short  time  before  the  battle  of  Camden; 
but  he  declined  the  honor,  from  a  sense  of  his  deficient 


432  BENJAMIN     BROWN. 

education  to  fill  the  post  with  credit,  being  that  of  all  the 
New  England  farmers  of  that  period. 

During  his  absence  in  the  army,  his  family,  in  common 
with  many  others,  suffered  severe  privations,  incident  to  the 
condition  of  the  country. 

At  the  time  of  his  resignation,  in  1779,  the  continental 
currency  had  so  greatly  depreciated,  that  his  month's  pay 
would  not  purchase  a  bushel  of  wheat  for  his  family,  and 
he  was  thus  forced  to  leave  the  service,  and  return  home,  to 
provide  for  their  wants,  by  his  personal  efforts.  About  the 
year  1789,  he  removed  from  Rome,  to  Hartford,  Washington 
county,  N.  Y.,  then  a  new  settlement,  where  he  remained 
until  September,  1796;  when,  with  several  families,  he  left 
there,  to  seek  a  new  home  in  the  territory  northwest  of  the 
Ohio  river;  the  fertility  and  beauty  of  the  country  ha  ing 
spread,  by  the  voice  of  fame,  through  the  middle  and  east- 
ern states.  He  reached  Marietta  in  the  spring  of  1797,  and 
in  1799  moved,  with  Judge  Cutler,  to  Ames  township,  and 
assisted  in  the  first  settlement  of  that  place.  In  1817,  his 
health  being  much  impaired,  he  went  to  live  with  his  son, 
Gen.  John  Brown,  in  Athens.  In  1818  he  applied  for,  and 
received  a  pension. 

He  was  a  professor  of  religion,  and  died,  much  lamented, 
in  October,  1821,  aged  seventy-six  years. 

The  descendants  of  John  and  Benjamin  Brown  have 
multiplied  in  the  west  to  hundreds.  Some  of  them  have 
occupied  highly  respectable  public  offices,  with  ability. 
Among  the  number  is  our  late  worthy  member  of  Congress, 
P.  B.  Johnson,  M.  D.,  whose  mother  was  the  daughter  of 
John  Brown.  Those  two  old  pioneers  may  well  be  com- 
pared to  the  oaks  of  our  forest,  which  nothing  but  the  terri- 
ble tornado  that  levels  all  before  it,  can  overthrow. 

The  following  is  a  copy  of  the  certificate  of  Gov.  Brooks, 
given  to  Capt.  Brown  on  applying  for  a  pension : 


JOSEPH    BARKER.  433 

"Medford,  Mass.,  August  24th,  1818. 
This  is  to  certify  that  Benjamin  Brown  was  a  captain  in 
the  late  eighth  Massachusetts  regiment,  commanded  by  Col. 
Michael  Jackson — that  he  (Brown)  ranked  as  such  from 
January  1st,  1777 — that  he  was  with  me  in  the  capture  of 
Majs.  Tenbreck  and  Butler,  near  German  flats — in  raising 
the  seige  of  Fort  Stanwix,  and  in  the  several  battles  which 
immediately  preceded  the  capture  of  Gen.  Burgoyne  and 
his  army,  all  in  the  year  1777,  and  that  he  always  acted  as 
a  spirited  and  brave  officer.  The  time  of  Capt.  Brown's 
resigning  is  not  within  my  knowledge,  but  he  continued  in 
service  until  after  the  11th  of  September,  1778,  at  which 
time  I  left  the  eighth,  being  promoted  to  the  command  of  the 
seventh  regiment.  I  have  no  doubt  of  his  having  continued 
in  service  until  the  time  he  has  mentioned  in  his  declaration. 
J.  Brooks,  late  lieutenant-colonel 

Eighth  Massachusetts  regiment." 


COL.  JOSEPH    BARKER. 

Col.  Joseph  Barker  was  a  native  of  New  Market,  Rock- 
ingham county,  N.  H.,  and  was  born  on  the  9th  day  of  Sep- 
tember, A.  D.  1765.  His  father  was  Ephraim  Barker.  The 
maiden  name  of  his  mother  was  Mary  Manning,  of  Ipswich, 
Essex  county,  Mass.  At  the  age  of  six  years,  he  lost  his 
mother,  who  left  six  children.  A  few  years  after  her  death, 
Joseph  was  sent  to  Exeter  Academy,  one  of  the  earliest  clas- 
sical seminaries  in  New  England,  and  ranking  with  the  best 

in  reputation,  for  sound  scholarship  and  correct  discipline. 
28 


434  JOSEPH     BARKER, 

He  remained  in  the  academy  for  a  considerable  time,  and 
laid  the  foundation  of  a  good  English  education,  which,  in 
after-life,  by  reading,  a  clear,  discriminating  mind,  and  close 
observation  of  mankind,  enabled  him  to  appear  in  the  sev- 
eral posts  he  occupied,  of  a  public  nature,  with  honor  to 
himself,  and  the  credit  of  his  patrons. 

His  father  having  married  again,  in  the  year  1774,  moved 
his  family  to  Amherst,  N.  H.,  where  he  followed  the  occupa- 
tion of  a  house-carpenter,  to  which  he  was  bred;  few  of 
the  New  England  men  of  that  day  being  without  some  in- 
dustrial pursuit.  His  oldest  son,  Jeremiah,  was  educated 
as  a  physician,  and  settled  in  Portland,  Me.,  where  he  be- 
came one  of  the  most  eminent  practitioners  of  his  time; 
furnishing  numerous  articles  on  the  diseases  of  that  region, 
for  the  Medical  Repository,  from  its  first  establishment 
by  Drs.  Mitchell  and  Miller,  of  New  York  city.  This  work 
was  continued  for  many  years,  and  was  not  only  the  first 
medical  periodical  published  in  America,  but  is  said  to  have 
been  the  first  in  the  world;  opening  the  way  to  the  vast 
amount  of  medical  literature  which  is  now  sent  forth  to  the 
public. 

Joseph  was  continued  at  Exeter  until  sometime  during 
the  war,  probably  until  he  was  about  fourteen  or  fifteen 
years  old,  when  he  returned  to  his  father,  and  commenced 
the  acquirement  of  the  art  of  a  house-joiner  and  carpenter, 
under  the  guidance  of  his  parent.  He  was  a  youth  of  great 
spirit,  courage,  and  activity ;  and  many  stories  are  related, 
of  his  pugilistic  feats  and  wrestling,  not  only  with  the  boys 
of  his  own  age,  hut  with  those  much  his  superiors  in  years 
and  size.  His  father  lived  near  the  court-house  and  jail, 
and  Joseph  became  a  great  favorite  of  the  sheriff  of  the 
county,  who  was  fond  of  such  sports  as  were  common  during 
the  period  of  the  Revolution,  and  encouraged  him  in  the  prac- 
tice.    These  athletic  exercises  invigorated  and  strengthened 


JOSEPH    BARKER.  435 

his  muscular  frame,  and  gave  him  that  manly  bearing  and 
contempt  of  danger,  which  characterized  his  after-life.  When 
a  boy  he  possessed  a  rare  fund  of  wit  and  humor,  with  a 
taste  for  the  ludicrous,  which  was  very  amusing  to  his  com- 
panions. One  of  his  boyish  feats  was  related,  a  few  years 
since,  by  an  old  man  of  Amherst,  to  Mr.  G.  Dana,  his  bro- 
ther-in-law, while  there  on  a  visit. 

In  the  spring  of  the  year,  it  was  common  for  the  nice 
housekeepers  in  New  England,  to  have  their  rooms  and  door- 
yards  fresh  whitewashed  annually.  Joseph  had  been  set 
at  this  work,  and  when  he  had  about  completed  the  job,  an 
old  red  mare,  that  belonged  to  a  crabbed,  ill-natured  neigh- 
bor, came  up  to  the  gate,  as  she  had  been  in  the  habit  of 
doing  for  some  time,  giving  him  considerable  trouble  in  dri- 
ving her  away.  The  conceit  immediately  came  into  his 
head,  that  it  would  be  a  good  joke  to  metamorphose  the  old 
mare,  by  giving  her  a  coat  of  the  whitewash.  She  was  ac- 
cordingly tied  up  to  the  fence,  and  the  operation  commenced, 
of  giving  her  a  white  masquerading  dress  over  her  red  one. 
When  finished,  she  was  turned  loose,  and  went  directly  home. 
The  owner,  seeing  a  strange  horse  at  the  stable  door,  threw 
stones  at  her,  and  drove  her  away,  not  once  suspecting  that 
this  white  horse  could  be  his.  The  next  morning,  finding 
the  strange  animal  still  about  his  premises,  he  set  his  dog 
on  her,  in  great  anger,  following  her  with  many  curses  and 
brickbats,  determined  to  break  up  her  unwelcome  visits. 
Several  curious  disquisitions  were  held,  by  the  old  man  and 
his  wife,  on  the  pertinacity  of  the  animal,  while  the  mare 
was  in  the  greatest  wonder  at  the  strange  conduct  of  her 
master.  One  or  two  of  the  neighbors,  who  were  in  the  se- 
cret, as  the  man  was  no  favorite  among  them,  enjoyed  the 
joke  exceedingly,  especially  when  he  began  to  make  in- 
quiries after  his  own  horse,  which  had  somehow  strangely 
disappeared.    It  was  not  until  after  two  or  three  days,  when 


43C  JOSEPH    BARKER. 

the  coat  of  white  was  rubbed  off  in  patches,  showing  the 
natural  red,  that  he  could  be  convinced  of  her  identity,  and 
that  he  had  been  harassing  and  starving  his  own  beast 
during  all  that  time.  This  piece  of  fun  was  long  remem- 
bered in  the  village,  and  gave  Joseph  no  little  eclat  in  the 
estimation  of  the  real  lovers  of  a  little  harmless  mischief. 

After  working  a  year  or  two  with  his  father,  he  went  to 
live  with  a  relative  of  his  mother  in  New  Ipswich,  where  he 
perfected  his  knowledge  of  the  carpenter's  business,  becom- 
ing a  skillful  architect.  He  followed  his  occupation  for 
several  years.  In  1788  he  worked  as  a  journeyman  car- 
penter in  the  erection  of  a  meeting-house  in  New  Boston, 
where  he  remained  until  1789. 

In  the  latter  year  he  married  Miss  Elizabeth  Dana,  the 
eldest  daughter  of  Capt.  William  Dana,  of  Amherst,  with 
whom  he  had  long  been  acquainted.  His  father-in-law 
having  visited  the  Ohio  country  in  1788,  and  determined  on 
moving  his  family  there,  Mr.  Barker  concluded  to  join  his 
fortune  to  theirs,  and  embark  with  them  in  the  enterprise 
of  seeking  a  home  in  the  far  west.  They  left  Amherst  in 
September,  1789.  The  mode  of  travel  was  in  wagons 
drawn  by  oxen.  One  favorite  cow  was  brought  with  them, 
which  furnished  milk  for  the  children  on  the  way ;  and  on 
their  arrival  at  Belpre,  their  future  home  was  named  Old 
Amherst,  in  remembrance  of  their  former  place  of  residence. 
The  fatigues  of  a  journey  of  seven  hundred  miles,  and 
across  the  mountains,  at  that  day,  cannot  be  estimated  by 
those  born  amongst  the  facilities  of  steamboats  and  rail- 
roads. Such  were  the  difficulties  in  passing  these  lofty 
ranges,  that  sometimes  the  wagons  were  actually  taken  in 
pieces,  and  the  separate  parts  carried  by  hand  over  the  im- 
passable barrier  of  rocks  and  ledges.  On  the  route  one  of 
their  oxen  became  lame,  and  had  to  be  exchanged  for  a 
sound  one,  and  as  is  usually  the  case  in  such  events,  they 


JOSEPH    BARKER.  437 

were  sadly  cheated,  the  new  ox  being  nearly  valueless  for 
the  draught.  But  the  resolution  of  Capt.  Dana  and  Mr. 
Barker  was  equal  to  any  emergency,  and  surmounted  every 
obstacle.  The  rugged  mountains  were  finally  passed,  and 
in  November  the  party  arrived  at  Simrel's  ferry,  the  grand 
embarking  port  of  the  New  England  .emigrants  in  their  de- 
scent of  the  Ohio  river.  As  was  usual  at  this  early  period, 
they  were  detained  several  days  for  a  boat  to  be  made  ready 
for  their  use.  No  facilities  of  passenger  boats  of  any  kind 
were  then  known  on  the  western  waters,  but  every  traveler 
furnished  his  own  conveyance,  or  united  with  others,  his 
companions,  in  procuring  one.  While  waiting  at  this  place, 
Isaac  Barker,  with  his  family,  from  Rhode  Island,  arrived, 
and  they  all  lived  under  the  hospitable  roof  of  Thomas 
Stanley,  a  citizen  of  Connecticut  then  living  at  that  place, 
and  who  subsequently  became  a  respectable  and  valuable 
citizen  of  Marietta,  and  after  the  Indian  war  in  1797,  erected 
mills  on  Duck  creek,  in  the  present  township  of  Fearing. 
As  soon  as  the  boat  was  prepared,  the  three  families  em- 
barked in  their  unwieldy  craft,  built  after  the  fashion  of  a 
large  oblong  box,  covered  half  its  length  with  a  roof  to 
shelter  the  people  and  their  goods  from  the  weather,  while 
the  open  space  contained  their  teams  and  wagons.  The 
water  on  the  Youghiogheny  and  Monongahela,  as  it  usually 
is  at  this  season  of  the  year,  was  low,  and  every  mile  or  two 
the  boat  grounded  on  the  sand-bars  and  rocks,  requiring 
the  voyagers  to  leap  over  the  side  into  the  cold  water,  and 
pry  her  off  into  the  current,  rendering  the  passage  both  slow 
and  painful.  When  they  reached  Pittsburg,  a  favorable 
rise  in  the  river  accelerated  their  progress  and  rendered  the 
rest  of  the  voyage  more  comfortable.  On  their  arrival  at 
Marietta,  where  they  proposed  to  pass  the  winter,  they 
found  the  few  houses  then  built  so  crowded  with  inhabitants, 


438  JOSEPH    BARKER. 

that  they  concluded  to  pass  on  to  Belpre,  a  settlement  just 
commenced,  where  Capt.  Dana's  land  was  located. 

The  appearance  of  Marietta  at  that  time,  is  thus  described 
by  one  of  the  party  now  living.  "  On  ascending  the  bank 
of  the  river  to  look  at  the  town  we  had  been  nearly  three 
months  toiling  to  see,  a  very  cheerless  prospect  was  pre- 
sented to  our  view.  A  few  log-huts  were  scattered  here  and 
there,  raised  only  a  few  feet  above  the  tall  stumps  of  the 
sturdy  trees  that  had  been  cut  away  to  make  room  for  them. 
Narrow  foot-paths  meandered  through  the  mud  and  water 
from  cabin  to  cabin;  while  an  occasional  log  across  the 
water-courses  afforded  the  pedestrian  a  passage  without 
wetting  his  feet". 

The  people  were  very  kind  and  hospitable  to  the  new 
comers,  to  the  extent  of  their  ability ;  but  after  waiting  a 
day  or  two,  Capt.  Dana  proceeded  on  with  his  boat  to  his 
future  home,  where  he  arrived  late  in  November.  Much  to 
his  disappointment,  he  found  that  the  log-house  he  had 
built  the  spring  preceding,  by  accident  was  burned  up,  and 
the  family  had  to  remain  in  the  boat  until  another  was 
erected. 

Mr.  Barker,  who  depended  on  the  proceeds  of  his  mechan- 
ical labor  for  the  support  of  his  family,  concluded  to  stay 
for  the  present  in  Marietta,  where  carpenters  were  in  de- 
mand, and  immediately  began  putting  up  a  cabin  on  the 
corner  of  the  square  where  the  postoffice  building  now 
stands.  Early  in  January,  1790,  the  small-pox  was  intro- 
duced amongst  the  inhabitants  by  a  moving  family,  and 
it  was  thought  prudent  for  Mrs.  Barker  to  go  to  Belpre 
and  live  in  her  father's  family,  until  the  danger  was  passed. 
Mr.  Barker  not  having  had  the  disease,  was  inoculated 
about  the  middle  of  January,  as  were  a  large  portion  of  the 
inhabitants  of  Marietta.      For  pest-houses,  several  small 


JOSEPH    BARKER.  439 

log  buildings  were  put  up  on  the  border  of  the  plain.  On 
the  30th  of  that  month  he  wrote  to  his  wife.  "  I  am  living  in 
a  little,  clean  log-cabin  that  is  six  feet  wide,  seven  feet  long, 
and  four  and  a  half  high.  We  make  out  to  sit  up,  but  can- 
not stand  straight.  We  lodge  very  well."  This  shows  the 
narrow  accommodations  to  which  some  of  the  inhabitants 
had  to  submit.  Those  in  Campus  Martius  had  larger 
rooms,  but  were  also  very  much  crowded.  He  passed 
through  the  disease  favorably,  but  was  not  allowed  to  visit 
his  wife  at  Belpre,  on  account  of  the  danger  to  the  inhabit- 
ants, until  the  forepart  of  March. 

On  the  28th  of  February,  Mrs.  Barker  gave  birth  to  a 
son,  the  present  honorable  Joseph  Barker,  of  Newport.  He 
was  the  first  child  born  in  that  township,  and  has  several 
times  represented  Washington  county  in  the  state  Legislature. 
Some  time  in  the  spring  of  the  year  1790,  he  moved  his 
wife  and  little  son  to  Marietta,  where  he  remained  until  the 
autumn  of  1793. 

The  Indian  war  began  in  January,  1791,  yet,  notwith- 
standing the  danger,  he  lived  in  his  own  house  during  a 
part  of  the  time,  retiring  to  the  stockade  at  the  Point 
when  the  rangers  reported  signs  of  Indians  in  the  vicinity, 
and  returning  to  his  own  domicil  when  the  danger  was  at  a 
distance.  Soon  after  the  war  broke  out,  he  was  appointed 
an  orderly-sergeant,  in  the  pay  of  the  United  States  by  Col. 
Sproat,  who  was  the  military  agent,  with  the  rank  of  a  lieu- 
tenant-colonel. 

The  condition  of  the  Ohio  Company's  settlements  at  the 
time  of  his  arrival,  and  for  a  year  or  two  after,  cannot  be 
better  described  than  in  his  own  words. 

In  November,  1789,  at  the  time  of  my  arrival,  ninety 
families  had  landed,  and  associations  embracing  two  hun- 
dred and  fifty  settlers  had  been  formed,  and  improvements 
had  commenced  in  several  of  them.     By  May,  1790,  there 


440  JOSEPH    BARKER. 

were  very  few  lots  in  Belpre  and  Newbury  without  a  settler. 
On  a  return  of  all  the  men  enrolled  for  militia  duty  in  the 
county,  made  to  the  secretary  of  war  in  March,  1791,  their 
number  amounted  to  one  hundred  and  ninety-five.  But 
after  that  I  think  the  number  increased,  and  the  one  hundred 
thousand  acres  granted  by  Congress  for  donation  purposes, 
induced  many  to  remain,  and  many  more  to  come  in,  to 
avail  themselves  of  the  terms  of  the  donation. 

In  January,  1790,  a  new  arrangement  was  made  in  the 
militia,  a  company  of  artillery  was  formed,  commanded  by 
Capt.  William  Mills,  of  Marietta,  Lieut.  George  Ingersol,  of 
Belpre,  and  the  late  Gen.  Joseph  Buck,  orderly- serge  ant. 
The  infantry  company  was  commanded  by  Maj.  Nathan 
Goodale,  of  Belpre,  and  Anselm  Tupper,  of  Marietta,  lieu- 
tenant. Early  in  the  spring,  some  alterations  were  made, 
by  which  I  was  transferred  from  the  artillery,  and  made  or- 
derly-sergeant of  the  company  of  infantry,  and  it  became 
my  duty  to  keep  a  roll  of  every  person  amenable  to  military 
service;  to  attend  at  the  place  of  public  worship,  with  my 
roll;  call  every  man's  name,  examine  his  arms  and  ammu- 
nition, and  see  that  he  was  equipped  according  to  law.  I 
had  also  to  note  down  and  report  all  delinquencies.  The 
territorial  militia  law  made  it  the  duty  of  the  troops,  to  as- 
semble on  Sunday  morning,  at  ten  o'clock,  for  inspection ; 
those  who  attended  public  worship,  and  there  were  few  who 
did  not,  after  the  inspection,  marched  from  the  parade  ground 
to  the  room  where  service  was  held,  preceded  by  the  clergy- 
man and  Col.  Sproat,  the  commandant  at  the  Point  garrison, 
with  his  Revolutionary  sword  drawn,  and  the  drum  and  fife, 
and  by  Gen.  Putnam  and  Gen.  Tupper,  at  Campus  Martins. 
The  citizens  generally  fell  into  the  ranks,  and  the  procession 
moved,  in  military  array,  to  wait  on  divine  service ;  the  fife 
and  drum  supplying  the  place  of  the  church-going  bell,  in 
the  eastern  states.     In  case  of  an  alarm  on  the  Sabbath, 


JOSEPH    BARKER.  441 

that  portion  of  the  congregation  who  were  armed,  rushed 
out  of  the  meeting,  to  face  the  danger,  or  pursue  the  Indians, 
which  several  times  happened.  After  the  war  commenced, 
the  troops  under  pay,  were  the  special  guard  for  the  garris- 
ons, in  the  daytime,  but  were  not  connected  with  the  citizens 
in  their  military  duties.  The  latter  were  held  in  prepara- 
tion, to  be  called  on  for  scouts  and  pursuing  parties ;  while 
the  guard  was  not  allowed  to  leave  the  garrison,  or  the  sen- 
tinel his  post,  but  they  were  both  inspected  at  the  same 
hour  by  their  respective  officers,  to  see  if  they  were  prepared 
for  action  at  all  times.  Before  the  arrival  of  the  Rev.  Daniel 
Story,  who  was  the  stated  pastor,  Thomas  Lord,  Esq.,  of 
Connecticut,  who  had  been  educated  at  Yale  college,  and 
studied  theology  preparatoiy  to  the  ministry,  officiated  as 
clergyman  for  the  settlement.  Previous  to  the  commence- 
ment of  hostilities  by  this  weekly  inspection  on  the  Sabbath, 
when  the  most  of  the  people  were  at  home,  but  absent  on 
other  days,  the  commandant  was  informed  what  proportion 
of  them  were  armed  and  equipped  to  defend  the  settlement; 
emigrants  frequently  arrived  without  arms,  so  that  the  num- 
ber of  guns  fell  short  of  the  number  of  men,  and  the  de- 
ficiency could  not  be  made  up  in  the  settlement,  and  those 
persons  only  who  were  known  to  have  arms,  were  proceeded 
against  as  delinquents.  A  short  time  previous  to  hostilities, 
Col.  Sproat  had  been  authorized  by  the  secretary  of  war  to 
enlist  a  company  of  men  into  the  service  of  the  United 
States,  out  of  the  settlers,  to  be  employed  in  guarding  and 
defending  the  settlements,  and  also  to  superintend  and  dis- 
tribute them  at  the  posts  which  most  needed  their  aid.  He 
was  directed  to  appoint  a  commissary  to  furnish  provisions  to 
these  troops,  and  employed  Paul  Fearing,  Esq.,  Col.  Sproat 
being  commander-in-chief,  his  aid  was  solicited  in  procuring 
arms  for  the  citizens,  wrho  were  deficient.  He  immediately 
wrote  to  the  commanding  officer  at  Fort  Pitt,  who  sent  down 


442  JOSEPH    BARKER. 

about  thirty  old  muskets  which  had  been  laid  aside  as  unfit 
for  use ;  they  were  put  into  the  hands  of  the  blacksmiths, 
who  repaired  them  as  well  as  they  could,  and  distributed 
where  most  needed.  Powder  and  lead  were  furnished,  and 
cartridges  made  to  suit  each  caliber,  and  deposited  in  the 
block-houses  ready  to  be  distributed  in  case  of  an  attack. 
In  June,  1792,  Col.  Sproat  received  two  boxes,  containing 
twenty-five  stands  each  of  United  States  muskets  with  bayo- 
nets fresh  from  the  factory.  These  were  distributed  to  ihe 
soldiers  and  citizens  on  their  signing  a  receipt  to  return 
them  when  called  for,  to  Col.  Sproat.  The  arms  were  never 
called  for,  and  are  still  in  the  county.  The  inhabitants  were 
now  thought  to  be  well  armed ;  many  rifles  were  procured  and 
brought  into  the  country.  The  northern  men,  previous  to  their 
coming  here,  were  unacquainted  with  the  rifle  and  the  woods, 
but  by  practicing  on  the  example  of  those  who  had  been  edu- 
cated among  the  Indians  and  the  forests,  they  soon  became 
good  hunters  and  expert  woodsmen.  Those  who  were  well 
armed  and  good  marksmen,  were  commonly  selected  as 
sentries  for  the  working  parties  in  the  fields,  and  were 
always  ready  to  start  on  any  discovery  of  the  enemy,  or 
pursue  an  Indian  trail.  Thus,  by  being  familiar  with  dan- 
ger, and  inured  to  the  hazard  of  a  rencounter  with  their  en- 
emies, they  gained  that  confidence  in  themselves  which 
promised,  in  case  of  meeting  an  Indian,  the  odds  in  their 
own  favor.  Several  followed  hunting  continually:  others 
were  out  with  the  rangers,  or  small  parties,  so  that  it  was 
difficult  for  an  Indian  to  make  a  track  within  five  miles  of 
a  garrison  without  being  detected.  Thus  a  large  portion  of 
the  inhabitants  became  fearless  of  danger  from  the  Indians, 
and  preferred  some  employment  or  enterprise  abroad,  to 
being  confined  in  the  garrisons,  which  is  evident  from  the 
fact  that  nearly  all  the  one  hundred  thousand  acres  of  do- 
nation land  had  been  taken  up,  surveyed  and  deeded  away, 


JOSEPH    BARKER.  443 

with  improvements  made  on  many  of  the  lots,  previous  to 
Wayne's  treaty.  Where  the  lots  bordered  on  large  streams, 
many  had  made  considerable  improvements  during  the  war, 
and  others  were  ready  to  do  so  on  the  news  of  peace.  All 
the  lots  settled  along  the  Ohio  river  below  the  Muskingum, 
belonged  to  the  Ohio  Company's  purchase,  It  is  an  axiom 
with  military  men  that  rangers  are  the  eyes  of  an  army.  It 
proved  true  with  respect  to  our  settlements.  The  measure 
of  employing  rangers  was  adopted  previous  to  the  com- 
mencement of  hostilities,  and  they  were  stationed  at  Mari- 
etta and  Waterford  three  months  before  the  massacre  at 
Big  Bottom ;  and  as  the  safety  of  the  lives  and  property  of 
the  inhabitants  depended  much  on  the  vigilance  and  honesty 
of  these  men,  none  were  selected  but  such  as  possessed 
these  qualities.  Their  pay,  under  the  Ohio  Company,  was 
one  dollar  a  day ;  but  under  the  United  States,  it  was  eighty- 
four  cents,  or  twenty-five  dollars  a  month. 

After  naming  and  describing  the  persons  of  a  number  of 
the  rangers,  he  says,  "Two  men,  Benjamin  Patterson  and 
John  Shepherd,  from  the  state  of  New  York,  were  employed 
as  rangers  three  of  the  first  years  of  the  war,  and  then 
moved  down  the  river.  At  the  time  of  the  controversy  be- 
tween Pennsylvania  and  Connecticut  relative  to  their  con- 
flicting land  claims  on  the  Susquehanna  river,  the  state  of 
Pennsylvania  appointed  Timothy  Pickering,  of  Salem,  Mass., 
the  honest  old  Federalist,  to  go  upon  the  ground  and  meet 
others  to  adjust  the  difference.  While  there,  this  same  Ben- 
jamin Patterson  was  one  of  two  or  three  men  who  took  Picker- 
ing from  his  bed  at  night,  and  conveyed  him  three  miles  into 
the  woods,  and  bound  him  fast  to  a  white-oak  sapling  and 
left  him  there  to  starve  to  death ;  but  after  two  or  three  days 
Patterson  returned,  and  went  and  unbound  him,  setting  him 
at  liberty,  for  which  outrage  he  fled  from  Wyoming  to  the 
state  of  New  York,  and  from  thence  to  Marietta.     It  was 


444  JOSEPH    BARKER. 

not  uncommon  for  such  characters  to  call  at  our  settlement, 
but  finding  neither  plunder  nor  speculation,  and  their  char- 
acters soon  pursuing  them,  they  floated  down  the  river. 

To  the  plan  early  adopted  of  employing  rangers,  may  be 
attributed  the  general  safety  and  success  of  the  settlement 
of  Washington  county.  It  was  first  proposed  by  Gen.  Put- 
nam, and  afterward  adopted  by  Congress.  The  Indians 
finding  themselves  so  closely  watched  by  men  who  were 
their  compeers  in  their  own  arts  of  warfare,  as  well  as  more 
vigilant  and  untiring  soldiers,  became  indifferent  to  enter- 
prises where  they  were  likely  to  meet  with  more  loss  than 
profit.  The  hope  of  reward  is  the  great  spring  of  human 
action.  Men  who  are  not  paid,  nor  fed  nor  clothed,  may 
make  good  partizans  for  a  short  emergency,  but  never  make 
good  soldiers.  Their  patriotism  soon  cools.  The  hope  of 
plunder  is  the  main  stimulus  with  the  Indians.  Therefore 
they  crossed  the  Ohio  river  below  and  above — passing  by 
us,  went  a  hundred  miles  beyond,  on  to  the  waters  of  the 
Monongahela,  where  there  was  more  plunder  and  less  watch- 
fulness. Revenge  is  sweet,  but  must  not  be  bought  too  dear. 
Parties  of  fifty  or  a  hundred,  who  came  on  to  attack  us,  sel- 
dom remained  about  the  settlements  more  than  a  week; 
and  larger  bodies  of  a  thousand  or  more,  such  as  attacked 
Gen.  St.  Clair  and  Fort  Recovery,  could  not  keep  together 
more  than  four  or  five  days,  as  they  had  no  means  to  pro- 
vide food  for  the  soldier  or  his  family,  when  fighting  the  bat- 
tles of  his  tribe.  It  is  estimated,  that  in  the  seven  years 
previous  to  the  war  of  1791,  the  Indians,  along  the  fron- 
tiers south  of  the  Ohio  river,  killed  and  took  prisoners,  fif- 
teen hundred  persons,  stole  two  thousand  horses,  and  other 
property  to  the  amount  of  fifty  thousand  dollars.  This  was 
the  declared  object  of  the  party  who  killed  Mr.  Carpenter 
and  the  family  of  Armstrong. 

The  first  physician  who  came  to  settle  in  Marietta,  was 


JOSEPH    BARKER.  445 

Dr.  Jabez  Farley,  a  son  of  Gen.  Farley,  of  Old  Ipswich, 
Mass.  He  had  been  educated  for  a  physician,  and  studied 
medicine  with  old  Dr.  Holyoke,  walking  with  him,  as  his 
friends  said,  three  years  in  the  streets  of  Salem.  He  was  a 
modest,  amiable,  young  man;  always  ready  to  obey  the  calls 
of  humanity,  and  had  the  good-will  and  confidence  of  all 
who  knew  him.  But  as  there  were  but  few  people,  and  those 
young  and  healthy,  (except  the  disease  of  an  empty  purse,) 
his  practice  was  very  limited.  As  he  was  not  fitted  for  any 
other  business,  in  the  autumn  of  1790,  his  medicine  being 
exhausted,  he  returned  to  Ipswich,  and  did  not  come  out 
again. 

In  the  first  settlement  of  the  country,  intermittent  fever, 
or  fever  and  ague,  was  the  prevailing  disease,  among  all 
classes,  along  the  water-courses.  It  commenced  about  the 
1st  of  August,  and  continued  at  intervals,  until  sugar-making 
in  February  or  March.  Maple  sugar  was  a  valuable  article 
of  diet,  in  families  who  had  little  or  no  salt  meat,  as  this 
focd  was  scarce  and  dear.  Sugar  was  a  substitute  for  many 
things,  and  where  they  could  get  it,  as  most  people  could, 
who  took  the  pains  of  making  it,  was  used  freely,  and  some- 
times exhausted  their  store,  before  the  sickly  season,  in  Au- 
gust, arrived;  when  they  were  almost  certain  to  be  sick; 
while  those  who  had  more  substantial  and  solid  food,  es- 
caped. Remitting  or  bilious  fevers  were  not  so  common, 
until  long  after  the  war.  Industry  and  temperance  were 
preventives  of  most  disorders,  and  a  remedy  for  many  more. 

Gen.  Putnam  used  to  relate  an  anecdote  of  his  own  expe- 
rience in  the  fever  and  ague.  After  concluding  a  treaty  of 
peace  with  the  Wabash  and  Illinois  Indians,  in  September, 
1792,  he  was  attacked  with  the  fever  and  ague,  and  suffered 
severely  with  this  disorder,  on  his  voyage  up,  performed  in 
a  superb,  twelve-oared  barge,  rowed  by  United  States  sol- 
diers.   He  had  a  surgeon  on  board,  who  prescribed  for  him; 


446  JOSEPH    BARKER. 

but  debarred  him  from  the  use  of  stimulating  food  and  drink. 
His  disease  continued  unabated,  under  this  course,  until  he 
reached  this  side  of  Gallipolis,  when  the  boat  landed  at  night- 
fall, at  a  camp  of  hunters  on  the  bank  of  the  Ohio.  They 
had  a  profusion  of  bear  meat,  venison,  and  turkey.  They 
feasted  themselves,  and  made  every  person  welcome;  but 
the  general  was  interdicted  the  savory  contents  of  the  camp- 
kettle,  by  his  surgeon,  the  very  fumes  of  which  were  quite  a 
feast  to  a  hungry  stomach.  He  lay  down  on  his  blanket, 
before  the  camp-fire,  and  tried  to  sleep,  but  the  thoughts  of 
the  rich  contents  of  the  camp-kettle,  only  a  few  feet  from 
him,  prevented.  As  soon  as  all  around  him  were  lost  in 
slumber,  he  crept  up  to  the  side  of  the  kettle,  and  feasted 
his  craving  appetite  on  the  well-seasoned  bear  meat  and 
venison,  as  long  as  he  dared  to  indulge  it.  He  had  not  a 
single  return  of  the  ague  after  this  night;  showing  that  all 
he  needed,  was  more  stimulating  food  than  he  had  been  al- 
lowed to  use  for  several  weeks  preceding. 

As  the  Indians  came  into  the  treaty  at  Fort  Harmer  in 
the  fall  of  1788,  they  employed  themselves  in  hunting  and 
destroying  the  game,  for  which  they  had  no  use,  (as  they 
were  supplied  with  rations  from  the  garrison,)  except  for 
the  skins  of  the  deer.  So  great  was  their  industry  and  per- 
severance, that  in  the  fall  and  winter  they  brought  in  deer 
and  turkeys,  piling  them  up  on  the  bank  of  the  Muskingum, 
at  the  Point,  like  a  stack  of  hay,  until  the  inhabitants  were 
obliged  to  assemble  and  throw  them  into  the  river,  to  abate 
the  nuisance.  They  left  the  carcasses  about  the  woods, 
which  brought  in  the  wolves  and  panthers,  but  destroyed 
all  the  deer.  A  man  by  the  name  of  Bagley,  who  was  a 
fiddler,  and  lived  at  Wolf  creek  mills,  on  his  way  to  Mari- 
etta one  cold,  snow-stormy  day  in  March,  was  attacked  by 
a  gang  of  wolves,  who  drove  him  up  a  tree,  where  he  had 
to  sit  and  play  the  fiddle  for  them  all  night,  until  they  left 


JOSEPH    BARKER.  447 

him  in  the  morning.  When  the  Indians  were  asked  why 
they  destroyed  and  wasted  the  game  in  such  a  manner,  they 
answered  they  meant  to  destroy  and  starve  out  every  white 
man  north  of  the  Ohio.  They  frequently  alluded  to  the 
prospect  of  repossessing  their  lands,  and  recovering  their 
good  hunting  grounds.  One  old  Indian,  when  he  drew  his 
blanket  at  the  treaty,  threw  it  over  his  shoulders,  saying  he 
had  got  his  cornfield  on  his  back,  but  he  would  have  it  to 
walk  on  next  year.  It  was  said  there  were  four  hundred 
Indians,  men,  women,  and  children;  and  so  thoroughly  did 
they  destroy  the  game  within  ten  miles  of  Marietta,  that 
scarcely  a  deer  could  be  seen ;  where,  before,  a  good  hunter 
could  kill  from  fifteen  to  twenty  in  a  day.  I  have  heard  Ham- 
ilton Kerr  say,  that  the  hills  between  Duck  creek  and  Little 
Muskingum,  were  the  best  hunting  ground  he  had  ever  seen ; 
that  he  could  easily  kill  fifteen  deer  in  a  day,  and  frequently 
in  a  morning.  The  Indians,  by  burning  the  woods  every 
year,  kept  down  the  undergrowth,  and  made  good  pasture 
for  the  game  and  good  hunting  for  themselves.  The  famine 
of  1790  was  much  aggravated  by  this  destruction  of  the 
wild  animals. 

Early  in  March,  1791,  Capt.  Joseph  Rogers,  one  of  the 
rangers,  was  killed  by  the  Indians.  He  was  a  native  of 
Pennsylvania,  and  about  fifty  years  old;  a  gentlemanly, 
brave,  humane  soldier,  and  had  been  an  officer  in  Col. 
Morgan's  rifle  corps  at  the  capture  of  Burgoyne.  Having 
served  honorably  through  the  Revolution,  he,  with  many  an 
old  soldier,  marched  toward  the  setting  sun,  on  the  forma- 
tion of  the  Ohio  Company,  in  the  hope  of  finding  a  new 
home  in  the  west.  He  was  in  company  with  Edward  Hen- 
derson, another  of  the  rangers,  on  their  return  from  a  tour 
of  duty,  and  was  shot  by  a  party  of  four  Indians,  on  the 
side  of  a  hill  a  mile  north  of  Campus  Martius.     Henderson 


448  JOSEPH    BARKER. 

had  several  balls  shot  through  his  clothes,  but  made  his 
escape  after  being  chased  several  miles,  and  reached  the 
garrison  at  the  Point  about  twelve  o'clock  at  night,  where 
he  was  recognized  by  the  sentinel  on  duty,  and  admitted  at 
the  gate  on  Ohio  street.  The  commander  was  roused, 
the  cannon  fired,  and  answered  at  Campus  Martius  and 
Fort  Harmer.  The  alarm  ran  through  the  garrison  that 
Rogers  was  killed,  and  Henderson  chased  into  the  post  by 
a  large  body  of  Indians,  who  were  now  at  the  gate  making 
an  attack.  All  was  consternation  in  the  darkness  of  night, 
but  every  one  hastened  to  his  alarm  post.  Some  incidents 
occurred  which  marked  the  propensities  of  different  individ- 
uals. The  first  person  for  admittance  into  the  central  block- 
house was  Col.  Sproat,  with  a  box  of  papers.  Then  came 
some  young  men  with  their  arms.  Then  a  woman  with  her 
bed  and  children.  Next  old  Mr.  William  Moulton,  from 
Newburyport,  aged  seventy,  with  his  leather  apron  full  of 
old  goldsmith  tools  and  tobacco.  Close  at  his  heels  came 
his  daughter  Anna,  with  the  China  teapot,  cups  and  saucers : 
Lydia  brought  the  great  Bible;  but  when  all  were  in,  their 
mother  was  missing.  Where  was  mother?  She  must  be 
killed !  No,  says  Lydia,  mother  said  she  would  not  leave 
the  house  looking  so;  she  would  put  things  a  little  more  to 
rights,  and  then  she  would  come.  Directly  mother  came, 
bringing  the  looking-glass,  knives  and  forks,  &c. 

Messengers  were  soon  exchanged  with  Campus  Martius, 
and  no  appearance  of  hostilities  was  discovered.  All  re- 
turned to  their  homes  in  the  morning,  and  peace  was  re- 
stored to  the  little  anxious  community.  A  strong  party  of 
men  went  out  that  forenoon,  brought  in  the  dead  body  of 
Rogers,  and  buried  him  in  second  street,  near  the  brink  of 
the  plain." 

Mr.  Barker,  as  orderly-sergeant,  had  charge  of  the  block- 


JOSEPH    BARKER.  449 

house  at  the  Point,  where  the  inhabitants  assembled  at  the 
alarm  of  Indians,  and  was  an  eye-witness  of  the  scene 
described. 

During  the  continuance  of  the  war,  he  was  exposed  to 
many  dangers  and  trials,  which  he  met  with  the  fortitude  of 
a  brave  man,  and  was  ready  at  all  times  to  lead  or  to  follow 
wherever  duty  called  him.  Soon  after  the  massacre  at  Big 
Bottom,  he  was  on  the  ground  with  a  party  of  volunteers 
from  Marietta,  and  assisted  in  burying  the  burnt  and  mu- 
tilated bodies  of  his  countrymen.  Also  in  the  autumn  of 
1791,  when  Capt.  Carpenter  and  four  others  were  killed  by 
the  Indians  seven  miles  above  Marietta,  in  Virginia,  he  was 
early  at  the  spot,  and  assisted  in  committing  to  the  earth 
their  mangled  bodies,  which  was  a  dangerous  service,  as  the 
savages  might  still  be  lurking  in  the  vicinity  of  the  place, 
watching  for  their  approach. 

In  August,  1793,  the  small-pox  again  visited  Marietta, 
and  to  avoid  the  infection  in  his  family,  he  moved  to  Stone's 
garrison,  in  the  upper  settlement  of  Belpre,  built  in  the 
spring  of  that  year.  But  this  enemy  of  the  human  race, 
more  subtle  than  the  savage,  could  not  be  eluded,  and  Mrs. 
Barker  took  the  disease  in  the  natural  way.  It  proved  to 
be  of  the  malignant,  confluent  kind,  and  she  barely  escaped 
with  her  life,  bearing  about  her  person  the  marks  of  its  vio- 
lence the  rest  of  her  days.  All  the  inhabitants  of  Belpre 
who  had  not  previously  had  the  small-pox,  were  now  inocu- 
lated, turning  their  garrisons  into  so  many  hospitals.  Be- 
tween the  Indians  without  their  walls,  and  disease  and  want 
within,  they  suffered  extremely. 

In  the  spring  of  1794,  a  family  by  the  name  of  Armstrong, 
on  the  Virginia  shore  of  the  Ohio,  in  sight  of  Stone's  garri- 
son, was  attacked  by  the  Indians,  four  killed  and  three  taken 
prisoners.     On  this  occasion  he  was  one  of  the  volunteers 

who,  on  the  first  alarm,  turned  out  from  the  garrison  to 
29 


450  JOSEPH    BARKER. 

pursue  the  Indians,  bury  the  dead,  and  give  succor  to  such  of 
the  family  as  escaped  by  not  being  in  the  house  at  the  time. 
These  melancholy  scenes  were  common  during  the  war, 
and  tried  the  courage  and  the  hearts  of  the  bravest  of  the 
settlers. 

In  the  winter  of  1793-4,  he  taught  a  school  in  the  garri- 
son. This  post  was  about  one  hundred  yards  in  length  by 
fifty  yards  in  breadth,  and  contained  five  block-houses,  and 
six  log  dwelling-houses,  with  a  school-house.  The  whole 
were  inclosed  with  stout  palisades.  The  inmates  consisted 
of  twelve  families,  and  being  generally  prolific  in  children, 
averaging  from  three  or  four  to  eight  or  ten  in  a  family,  they 
could  furnish  a  school  of  forty  between  the  ages  of  four 
years  and  twenty  years.  The  heads  of  families  in  this 
garrison  were  Capt.  Jonathan  Stone,  Capt.  William  Dana, 
Capt.  Elias  Gates,  Col.  Silas  Bent,  Stephen  Guthrie,  Israel 
Stone,  Simeon  Wright,  Isaac  Barker,  Joseph  Barker,  Wan- 
ton Cosey,  Benjamin  Patterson,  and  Stephen  Smith.  The 
school  was  an  interesting  one,  and  he  spent  the  winter  very 
pleasantly  in  teaching  the  young  idea  how  to  shoot. 

In  February,  1795,  the  inhabitants  of  this  little  garrison 
were  doomed  to  lose  one  of  their  own  number  by  the  Indians. 
Jonas  Davis,  an  intelligent  young  man  from  New  England, 
and  at  the  time  living  in  Mr.  Barker's  family,  incautiously 
left  the  station  one  morning  alone,  and  went  about  three 
miles  up  the  bank  of  the  Ohio,  for  the  purpose  of  getting 
the  boards  and  nails  from  a  small  boat  he  had  discovered 
wrecked  in  the  ice  on  the  shore,  as  he  came  down  from  Ma- 
rietta the  day  before.  Not  returning  that  night,  fears  were 
felt  for  his  safety.  The  following  morning  all  the  inhabit- 
ants of  the  garrison  fit  to  bear  arms,  excepting  Capt.  Dana 
and  Col.  Bent,  who  were  rather  infirm,  were  mustered  to  go 
out  in  search  of  Davis.  After  cautiously  reconnoitcring  then- 
way,  he  was  found  killed  and  scalped  near  the  mouth  of 


JOSEPH    BARKER.  451 

Crooked  creek,  stripped  of  all  his  clothing  but  a  shirt.  Pre- 
parations were  soon  made,  for  bringing  the  dead  body  to 
the  garrison,  by  lashing  it  with  hickory  withes  to  a  pole. 

In  the  meantime,  one  of  the  party,  unused  to  such  scenes, 
became  much  alarmed  at  the  sight  of  the  dead  and  mangled 
body,  together  with  the  surmises  of  Patterson,  the  ranger, 
that  the  Indians  were  still  lurking  in  the  vicinity,  watching 
their  motions,  suffered  his  fears  to  get  the  better  of  his  rea- 
son, and  started,  full  speed,  for  home.  So  much  alarmed 
was  the  man,  that  he  fancied  an  Indian  in  every  bush,  and 
thought  he  could  see  their  dusky  forms  stalking  from  tree  to 
tree,  ready  to  intercept  him.  In  the  meantime,  the  inmates 
of  the  garrison  were  waiting,  in  anxious  suspense,  the  return 
of  the  party,  and  to  hear  the  result  of  their  search.  At 
length  the  person  in  the  watch-tower  gave  notice  of  the  ap- 
proach of  a  messenger,  at  his  utmost  speed.  A  general  rush 
of  the  women  and  children,  was  made  to  the  gate,  to  learn 
the  tidings.  The  man,  out  of  breath,  and  pale  with  affright, 
had  hardly  strength  enough  to  relate  that  he  had  been  chased 
by  the  Indians,  who  filled  the  woods,  and  barely  escaped  with 
his  life,  and  he  had  no  doubt  the  whole  party  were  either 
killed  or  taken  prisoners.  The  gates  were  immediately 
closed  and  barred,  while  every  preparation  in  their  power, 
was  made  for  defense,  by  the  two  old  veterans,  Dana  and 
Bent,  who  had  both  seen  service  in  the  American  Revo- 
lution. Grief,  anguish,  and  confusion,  for  a  short  time  per- 
vaded this  wretched  group  of  mothers,  wives,  and  children, 
at  the  false  intelligence  of  the  fate  of  their  dearest  friends. 
On  more  closely  questioning  the  alarmed  fugitive,  as  to  the 
particulars  of  the  fight  with  the  Indians,  from  his  incoherent 
account,  they  were  led  to  hope  the  matter  was  not  so  disas- 
trous as  represented,  and  quiet  began  to  be  restored,  while 
they  waited,  in  great  anxiety,  the  return  of  the  party. 

It  was  a  slow  and  laborious  task,  to  bring  the  dead  body 


452  JOSEPH     BARKER. 

on  their  shoulders,  and  not  regarding  the  flight  of  the  run- 
away as  of  any  importance,  or  that  he  might  cause  need- 
less alarm  to  their  friends  at  home,  they  returned  cautiously 
along,  keeping  a  good  look-out  for  their  wily  foes,  if  any 
were  near.  They,  at  length,  to  the  great  relief  of  the  in- 
mates of  the  garrison,  made  their  appearance  with  the  dead 
body ;  and  as  it  was  naked,  they  halted  a  few  rods  from  the 
gate,  and  called  for  a  blanket  to  cover  it.  The  article  re- 
quired, was  carried  out  to  them  by  Mr.  Barker's  little  son, 
Joseph,  then  only  four  years  old,  who,  to  this  day,  remem- 
bers that  distressing  scene,  with  the  anguish  and  alarm  of 
the  occasion,  with  all  the  vividness  of  a  recent  event.  This 
was  the  last  trial  they  had  with  the  savages,  as  in  August 
following,  the  peace  of  Greenville  was  completed  with  the 
western  tribes. 

From  the  time  of  his  first  coming  to  Marietta,  Mr.  Bar- 
ker's intention  was,  to  become  the  owner  of  a  farm,  but  had 
thus  far  been  prevented  by  the  hostilities  of  the  Indians. 
The  donation  lands  of  one  hundred  acres,  had  previously 
been  distributed  to  actual  settlers,  and  his  lot  fell  in  Wise- 
man's bottom,  seven  miles  above  Marietta ;  to  this  he  subse- 
quently added  three  other  lots,  making  a  fertile  and  valuable 
farm,  of  four  hundred  acres,  the  seat  of  his  future  home. 

In  April,  1795,  he  left  the  garrison,  in  a  canoe,  with  two 
of  his  wife's  brothers,  William  and  Edmond  Bancroft  Dana, 
to  assist  him  in  making  the  first  openirg  on  his  wilderness 
farm,  taking  with  him — ,  in  addition  to  his  cooking  utensils, 
farming  tools,  and  provisions  —  fifty  young  apple,  and  twelve 
cherry  trees ;  it  being  one  of  the  first  acts  of  the  thrifty 
New  Englanders,  to  provide  their  families  with  fruit,  as  well 
as  bread.  The  name  of  Wiseman's  bottom  originated  from 
a  backwoodsman,  who,  while  Virginia  claimed  the  right  to 
all  the  lands  northwest  of  the  Ohio  river,  had  made  an  entry 
at  this  spot,  of  four  hundred  acres,  called  a  settlement  right. 


JOSEPH    BARKER.  453 

It  was  upon  this  little  improvement,  that  Mr.  Barker  began 
his  first  clearing.  There  was  yet  considerable  danger  from 
the  Indians,  as  peace  was  not  yet  concluded,  and  a  man  was 
killed  by  them  about  ten  miles  distant,  on  Wolf  creek,  in  a 
short  time  after.  Nevertheless,  the  adventurers  proceeded 
up  the  Muskingum  and  commenced  their  labor.  About  the 
time  of  their  arrival  a  block-house  had  been  built  at  Rain- 
bow creek,  on  the  opposite  side  of  the  river,  by  Gen.  Put- 
nam, where  he  proposed  to  erect  a  mill,  distant  about  a 
mile.  In  this  building,  during  the  time  of  their  stay,  the 
party  took  shelter  every  night,  returning  to  their  work  in 
the  morning  with  a  gun  on  each  one's  shoulder,  and  an  axe 
in  the  hand.  While  at  their  work  chopping  down  the  trees, 
one  of  the  party  was  constantly  kept  on  the  lookout  for 
danger.  In  addition  to  their  own  watchfulness,  they  had 
the  aid  of  a  faithful  old  dog,  called  Pedro,  who  accompanied 
them  from  New  Hampshire,  and  had  been  with  them  during 
the  war  in  Belpre.  He  would  instinctively  post  himself  on 
some  elevation,  such  as  a  big  log,  or  the  stump  of  a  tree, 
on  the  watch  for  the  approach  of  an  enemy,  ready  to  give 
the  alarm  on  the  least  sign  of  its  appearance,  whether  from 
wild  beast  or  savage. 

They  were  thus  occupied  for  three  weeks,  and  made  the 
first  permanent  improvement  in  the  Wiseman's  bottom  set- 
tlement, a  tract  embracing  two  or  three  thousand  acres,  and 
which  subsequently  became  one  of  the  most  beautiful,  well 
cultivated  tracts,  and  intellectual  community  on  the  Mus- 
kingum river.  During  this  time  they  had  cleared  about  two 
acres  of  ground  in  the  rich  bottom,  which  was  thickly  cov- 
ered with  immense  trees  of  black-walnut  and  sugar-ma- 
ple, the  labor  of  removing  and  burning  which  no  one  can 
tell,  but  him  who  has  actually  tried  it.  Holes  were  dug  in 
the  fresh  virgin  soil,  and  apple  trees  planted  out  amidst  the 
gigantic  sons  of  the  forest,  whose  loftv  heads  were  made  to 


454  JOSEPH    BARKER. 

bow  at  the  presence  of  civilized  man.  The  cherry  trees 
were  not  yet  set,  as  they  intended  to  remain  a  day  or  two 
longer;  but  old  Pedro  notified  them  one  afternoon  that 
danger  was  near.  With  the  hair  erect  on  his  back,  he  would 
rush  into  the  thick  woods  on  the  side  of  the  clearing,  threat- 
ening instant  attack  on  some  unseen  enemy,  but  which  his 
acute  olfactories  enabled  him  to  detect;  then  returning  to 
his  master,  seemed  to  say,  "  It  is  time  to  be  off."  This  was 
repeated  at  intervals  for  several  hours,  until  near  night, 
when  the  party  thought  it  would  be  more  prudent  to  go.  In 
the  meantime,  as  the  apple-trees  were  not  all  set,  when  the 
dog  began  his  warning,  two  of  the  party  stood  on  the  watch 
with  their  guns  ready,  while  the  third  one  finished  the  work 
by  setting  the  remaining  trees  near  the  bank  of  the  river, 
further  from  the  edge  of  the  woods,  and  from  the  concealed 
danger,  whatever  it  might  be.  They  now  stepped  on  board 
the  canoe  with  their  faithful  watch-dog,  just  at  evening,  and 
by  the  aid  of  a  rapid  current  and  the  vigorous  application 
of  their  paddles,  they  reached  Stone's  garrison,  a  distance 
of  nineteen  miles,  before  ten  o'clock  that  night. 

In  May,  Mr.  Barker  returned  to  his  farm  and  cleared  an 
additional  piece  of  woodland,  making  in  all  about  three 
acres,  which  was  planted  in  corn.  He  visited  the  little  field 
two  or  three  times  during  the  summer,  to  dress  the  corn  and 
witness  its  progress.  Once  he  came  alone,  and  staid  three 
nights,  lodging  as  before  in  the  block-house.  These  early 
fields  were  planted  without  plowing.  The  seed-corn  being 
committed  to  the  rich,  loose,  vegetable  soil,  grew  with  as- 
tonishing vigor ;  and  where  it  received  plenty  of  sunshine, 
yielded  fine  crops.  His  little  field  produced  about  one  hun- 
dred and  twenty-five  bushels,  which  very  fortunately  escaped 
the  ravages  of  the  squirrels  and  raccoons,  there  being  an 
abundant  supply  of  food  for  them  that  year  in  the  forest. 

The  final  articles  of  peace  were  signed  in  August,  1795. 


JOSEPH    BARKER.  455 

As  soon  as  the  intelligence  reached  the  garrisons  on  the 
Ohio  and  Muskingum,  their  inmates  prepared  to  leave  their 
rude  fortresses,  where  they  had  suffered  much  from  the  three 
greatest  scourges  of  the  human  race,  war,  famine,  and 
pestilence. 

In  December  following,  Mr.  Barker,  with  his  wife  and 
three  children,  left  the  garrison  and  landed  at  his  new  home 
on  the  18th  of  the  month.  The  first  thing  that  attracted 
the  notice  of  little  Joseph  on  their  going  ashore  at  the  new 
farm,  now  the  old  homestead,  was  the  fresh  cut  stumps  of 
the  small  willow  trees  that  lined  the  water's  edge,  the  work 
of  the  half-reasoning  beaver.  These  sagacious  animals  had 
a  lodge  behind  an  island  about  a  mile  below,  and  another 
a  short  distance  above,  at  the  mouth  of  Rainbow  creek. 
They  were  the  last  families  of  the  race  seen  in  this  part  of 
the  country,  and  were  in  a  year  or  two  after  caught  by  that 
venerable  old  trapper,  Isaac  Williams.  The  new  dwelling- 
house  of  the  Barkers  was  a  log-cabin  sixteen  feet  square. 
One  side  of  this  was  occupied  by  a  corn-crib  four  or  five  feet 
in  width,  made  of  poles,  containing  the  crop  of  the  little 
clearing.  On  entering  the  future  home  of  the  family,  in  a 
cold  December  night,  it  may  be  safely  said  that  no  future 
visitors  of  the  dwelling  of  Mr.  Barker,  ever  met  so  cold  a 
reception  as  they  themselves  did,  on  that  long-remembered 
evening.  The  nearest  neighbor  was  at  Marietta,  seven 
miles  below;  the  next  at  Waterford,  fifteen  miles  above. 
The  fortitude  and  perseverance  requisite  to  meet  the  hard- 
ships and  privations  of  a  settlement  in  the  wilderness,  were 
found  centered  in  this  family.  Mrs.  Barker  possessed  pa- 
tience, resolution,  industry,  and  good  sense;  all  needed,  in 
no  small  degree,  in  trials  of  this  kind.  During  that  winter 
the  clearing  was  considerably  enlarged,  and  two  hundred 
peach-trees  were  added  to  the  orchard  in  the  spring.  Mills 
for  grinding  Avere  scarce  and  remote;  and  the  hand-mill  at 


45C  JOSEPH    BARKER. 

the  block-house  across  the  river,  was  their  only  dependence 
for  meal;  but  with  a  good  crib  of  corn,  and  this  resource, 
famine  was  kept  at  a  respectful  distance. 

In  the  following  year,  or  1796,  the  families  of  Capt.  J. 
Devol,  John  Russel,  and  Israel  Putnam,  moved  into  Wise- 
man's bottom,  and  lessened  by  their  vicinity  the  sense  of 
loneliness,  as  they  were  all  social  and  well  informed  per- 
sons. During  the  year,  he  put  up  a  convenient  hewed  log- 
house,  with  a  brick  chimney,  a  degree  of  refinement  to  which 
but  few  new  settlers  arrive  short  of  several  years. 

In  January,  a  serious  accident  befell  him,  which  was  sensi- 
bly felt  for  a  long  time.  The  little  cabin  which  they  had 
recently  left,  accidently  took  fire,  and  was  destroyed.  It 
was  occupied  as  a  work-shop,  store-house,  &c,  and  contained 
a  large  stock  of  carpenter's  tools,  while  in  the  loft  was  stored 
away  the  crop  of  well  rotted  flax,  ready  for  dressing,  and 
on  which,  before  the  introduction  of  cotton,  the  inhabitants 
depended  for  their  domestic  cloth,  and  was  a  very  important 
article  in  every  family.  On  one  side  of  the  building  was 
the  pen  containing  the  fat  hogs,  and  were  saved  from  the 
flames  with  difficulty.  In  their  fright  they  fled  across  the 
river  on  the  ice,  into  the  woods,  and  were  not  found  until 
they  were  much  lessened  in  value.  All  his  bread-stuff  for 
the  ensuing  year  was  destroyed,  as  well  as  his  tools  brought 
from  New  England.  The  intrinsic  value  of  the  articles  was 
not  great,  but  to  him  was  a  serious  affair,  as  it  took  away 
his  whole  stay  of  bread  and  meat,  with  his  main  dependence 
for  clothing,  and  was  a  more  afflicting  loss  than  the  burning 
of  a  whole  block  of  buildings,  filled  with  goods,  would  be  to 
a  rich  Wall-street  merchant. 

To  repair  this  disaster,  Mr.  Barker  set  to  work  at  his  trade, 
like  a  sensible,  resolute  man,  and  followed  the  business  of 
a  house-carpenter  for  several  years  in  Marietta,  erecting 
dwelling-houses  for  the  Hon.  Paul  Fearing,  William  Skinner, 


JOSEPH    BARKER.  457 

Rev.  Daniel  Story,  and  many  others,  with  the  Muskingum 
academy.  In  1799  and  1800,  he  built  the  splendid  mansion 
of  Mr.  Blennerhassett,  on  the  island  since  called  by  his 
name. 

About  this  time,  ship-building  commenced  at  Marietta  and 
on  the  Muskingum  river,  where  many  a  tall  oak  which  had 
flourished  for  ages  on  its  banks,  two  thousand  miles  from 
the  ocean,  was  destined  to  toss  upon  its  waves,  and  to  visit 
far  distant  lands.  In  this  new  business,  Mr.  Barker  took  an 
active  part,  and  in  1802,  built  two  vessels  at  his  farm.  One 
was  the  Brig  Dominic,  for  Messrs.  Blennerhassett  and 
Woodbridge,  and  named  for  Mr.  B's.  oldest  son.  The  other 
was  a  schooner  for  E.  W.  Tupper,  called  the  Indiana.  In 
1803,  he  built  a  brig  called  the  Louisa,  for  the  same  man. 

During  the  autumn  of  1806,  he  was  employed  by  Mr. 
Blennerhassett  to  build  fifteen  large  batteaux,  to  be  used  in 
the  famous  Burr  expedition.  After  having  been  so  exten- 
sively employed,  by  the  former  gentleman,  as  an  architect, 
and  to  his  entire  satisfaction,  it  was  very  natural  for  him  to 
select  Mr.  Barker  for  this  purpose,  of  constructing  boats  so 
necessary  to  the  enterprise.  They  were  calculated  for  the 
ascent  of  water-courses,  and  were  doubtless  intended  to 
transport  troops  and  munitions  of  war  up  Red  river,  to 
Natchitoches,  from  which  point  a  short  land  journey  would 
reach  New  Mexico,  then  a  province  of  old  Spain.  To  revo- 
lutionize the  Mexicans,  was,  beyond  controversy,  the  object 
of  that  ardent,  bold,  and  restless  man,  Aaron  Burr.  The 
result  is  well  known  to  history. 

As  early  as  1799,  Mr.  Barker  was  commissioned,  by  Gov. 
St.  Clair,  as  a  justice  of  the  peace,  for  Washington  county, 
at  that  time  embracing  a  large  portion  of  the  southern  ter- 
ritory of  Ohio.  He  also  received  a  captain's  commission 
from  the  same  source,  and  was  advanced,  from  time  to  time, 
through  the  various  grades  of  promotion,  to  that  of  colonel 


458  JOSEPH    BARKER. 

of  the  regiment.  These  were  offices  of  distinction  and  honor 
in  those  days,  when  every  citizen  deemed  it  his  duty  to  ap- 
pear on  parade,  armed  and  equipped  according  to  law.  It 
was  during  this  period  in  our  history,  that  the  present  sen- 
ator, in  Congress,  from  Michigan,  Hon.  Lewis  Cass  was  or- 
derly-sergeant in  Capt.  Burlingame's  company  of  militia  at 
Marietta. 

In  the  year  1800  the  House  of  Representatives  in  the  ter- 
ritorial Legislature,  issued  an  address  to  the  citizens,  re- 
questing them  to  assemble  in  county  conventions,  and 
instruct  their  representatives  on  the  question  of  forming  a 
state  government.  It  was  a  subject  on  which  there  was 
great  division  of  sentiment.  At  a  meeting  of  the  citizens 
of  Adams  township,  Col.  Barker  was  chairman  of  a  com- 
mittee to  report  on  this  measure,  at  a  subsequent  assembly. 
He  wrote  a  very  full  and  able  report  in  opposition  to  the 
question,  which  received  the  approbation  of  the  committee. 
On  the  17th  of  June,  1801,  the  delegates  met  at  Marietta, 
as  follows:  for  Marietta,  Paul  Fearing,  and  Elijah  Backus; 
Belpre,  Isaac  Pearce,  and  Silas  Bent;  Waterford,  Robert 
Oliver,  and  Gilbert  Devol;  Adams,  Joseph  Barker;  New- 
port, Philip  Witten,  and  Samuel  Williamson ;  Middletown, 
(or  Athens,)  Alvin  Bingham;  Gallipolis,  Robert  SafFord. 
Gilbert  Devol  was  chairman,  and  Joseph  Barker,  clerk.  Col. 
Barker  presented  his  views  in  a  well  written  argument,  in 
opposition  to  the  policy  of  entering  into  a  state  government; 
especially  setting  forth  the  injurious  effects,  of  the  measure, 
to  the  settlers  in  the  Ohio  Company's  purchase.  They  had 
been  struggling  with  the  hardships  of  first  opening  the  wil- 
derness, since  the  year  1788;  and  for  a  large  part  of  the 
time,  pressed  by  the  merciless  savage  to  the  extremes  of 
want,  danger,  and  even  death.  The  population  was  sparse, 
and  generally  poor.  The  expenses  of  government  would  be 
heavy  in  proportion  to  the  inhabitants,  while  the  advantages 


JOSEPH    BARKER.  459 

of  a  state  government,  over  the  territorial,  would  be  few, 
perhaps  none,  in  their  present  situation.  The  taxes  to  sup- 
port it,  would  fall  on  the  actual  settlers  and  landholders, 
as  the  Ohio  Company  lands  would  all  be  brought  on  the 
tax  list,  while  Congress  lands,  daily  becoming  more  valuable 
by  the  improvements  of  the  settlers,  were  to  be  free  from 
taxation.  These,  with  various  other  reasons,  were  used  in 
support  of  the  position  taken,  and  were  so  satisfactoiy  to 
the  convention,  that  the  report  was  unanimously  adopted, 
and  the  following  resolution  passed : 

"  Resolved,  That  in  our  opinion,  it  would  be  highly  impol- 
itic, and  very  injurious  to  the  inhabitants  of  this  territory, 
to  enter  into  a  state  government,  at  this  time.  Therefore, 
we,  in  behalf  of  our  constituents,  do  request  that  you  would 
use  your  best  endeavors  to  prevent,  and  steadily  oppose 
the  adoption  of  any  measures  that  may  be  taken  for  the 
purpose." 

This,  with  the  usual  preamble,  was  signed  by  the  chair- 
man, and  sent  to  their  representatives. 

In  the  Legislature  as  well  as  among  the  people,  there  was 
a  great  division  on  this  important  question.  Those  who 
were  fond  of  office  and  expected  promotion,  with  a  share 
of  the  loaves  and  fishes  of  the  new  dynasty,  were  the  leaders 
in  favor  of  the  measure,  and  clamorous  for  its  adoption, 
while  the  sober,  judicious,  and  thinking  men,  were  opposed 
to  it.  The  advocates  of  the  proposition,  however,  succeeded 
in  rallying  sufficient  force  in  the  Legislature,  to  carry  the 
measure,  and  the  eastern  portion  of  the  territory  became 
the  state  of  Ohio.  So  anxious  were  the  ambitious  men  of 
the  territory  for  the  change,  that  they  relinquished  the  right 
of  taxing  the  lands  owned  by  Congress  until  five  years  after 
they  had  been  sold  and  in  the  possession  of  the  purchaser ; 
when,  in  equity,  they  should  have  been  liable  to  taxation  as 
soon  as  they  were  in  his  occupancy.     The  apprehensions 


460  JOSEPH    BARKER. 

of  the  evil  results  to  the  Ohio  Company  settlers,  were  soon 
realized,  as  the  taxes  for  the  support  of  the  new  government 
fell  very  heavily  on  them,  and  were  very  oppressive  on  the 
inhabitants  of  this  district,  as  well  as  Symmes'  purchase 
and  the  Connecticut  reserve.  This  inequality  remained 
until  the  year  1825,  when  the  ad  valorem  system  took  place, 
and  removed  this  long  continued  injustice. 

Although  an  unaspiring  man,  yet  Col.  Barker  was  called 
by  his  fellow  citizens  to  hold  many  stations  of  trust  and 
honor  during  his  life.  In  1818,  he  was  elected  a  representa- 
tive for  Washington  county,  in  the  state  Legislature.  He 
served  for  a  number  of  years  as  a  county  commissioner,  and 
planned  the  model  for  the  new  court-house,  built  in  1822, 
which  is  considered  both  a  convenient  and  beautiful  edifice. 

He  was  often  called  on  to  deliver  Fourth  of  July  orations 
and  agricultural  addresses,  in  all  which  he  acquitted  himself 
with  much  credit.  He  possessed  a  good  share  of  poetic 
genius,  as  well  as  imagination,  and  wrote  a  number  of 
pieces  quite  well  adapted  to  the  occasion.  One  of  these, 
for  the  Fourth  of  July,  1815,  abounds  in  humor,  and  is  well 
worth  preserving  as  coming  from  the  backwoods.  It  appears 
much  better  when  sung  than  in  simply  reading. 


THE    BIRTHDAY    OF    UNCLE    SAM. 

TUNE  OF  GOOD   QUEEN    BESS. 

Will  you  hear  me,  my  friends,  if  I  jingle  in  rhyme  S 
On  the  day  Uncle  Sam  was  first  out  of  his  prime,  sir, 
If  I  sing  of  the  times,  and  the  deeds  he  has  done, 
How  he  dress'd,  how  he  fought,  how  the  battle  was  won,  sir? 
Hail  to  the  memory  of  old  Uncle  Sam, 
Merry  be  the  birthday  of  old  Uncle  Sam  I 

The  family  was  young,  and  the  farm  rather  new ; 
They  had  their  odd  notions  like  us,  not  a  few,  sir, 


JOSEPH    BARKER.  ;461 

Had  full  faith  in.  witches,  gave  conjurors  devotion, 
And  to  the  oldest  boy  they  gave  a  double  portion,  sir. 

Proud  be  the  birthday  of  old  Uncle  Sam, 

Long  live  the  memory  of  old  Uncle  Sam. 

Our  grandsires  wore  buckles  on  their  shoes  for  to  please ; 
Their  jackets  and  their  breeches  both  came  to  their  knees,  sir, 
With  a  wig  on  the  head  and  a  cue  tail  so  trim, 
Nine  inches  on  a  hat  was  a  fashionable  brim,  sir. 

These  were  the  boyish  days  of  old  Uncle  Sam, 

Long  live  the  memory  of  old  Uncle  Sam. 

Our  grandmothers,  too,  were  the  patterns  of  good  taste, 
Three-quarters  of  a  yard  was  the  length  of  a  waist,  sir ; 
A  cushion  on  the  head,  and  a  cork  on  the  heel, 
With  a  hoop  in  the  gown  quite  as  broad  as  a  wheel,  sir. 

Such  were  the  minor  days  of  old  Uncle  Sam, 

Long  live  the  memory  of  old  Uncle  Sam. 

They  were  tenants  at  will  of  the  famous  Johny  Bull, 
Who  demanded  high  rents  and  collected  them  in  full,  sir; 
He  tax'd  them  direct  for  each  article  they  wore, 
While  his  army  and  his  stamp  act  vex'd  them  very  sore,  sir. 

These  were  the  sorry  days  of  old  Uncle  Sam, 

Merry  be  the  birthday  of  old  Uncle  Sam. 

"He'd  a  right  to  tax  the  colonies,"  so  Johnny  Bull  declared, 
"  In  any  case  whatever."    Uncle  Sammy  thought  it  hard,  sir, 
But  when  he  tried  to  make  them  pay  a  tax  on  their  tea, 
'Twas  steep' d  in  Boston  harbor,  for  the  fishes  in  the  sea,  sir. 

These  were  the  spunky  days  of  old  Uncle  Sam, 

Long  live  the  memory  of  old  Uncle  Sam. 

Then  Johnny  Bull  was  wrath,  and  to  give  his  passion  vent, 
He  fell  on  Uncle  Sam,  and  at  fisticuffs  they  went,  sir, 
The  squabble  lasted  long,  and  it  proved  very  sore, 
Tor  Johnny  Bull  was  pelted  both  behind  and  before,  sir. 

These  were  the  fighting  days  of  old  Uncle  Sam, 

Long  live  the  memory  of  old  Uncle  Sam. 

Every  farmer  owned  a  short  gun,  and  if  he  had  good  luck, 
Could  bring  down  a  redcoat  as  easy  as  a  buck,  sir. 


462  JOSEPH    BARKER. 

And  when  they  fell  in  with  Burgoyne  and  his  men, 
They  took  them  as  easy  as  turkeys  in  a  pen,  sir. 

Proud  be  the  birthday  of  old  Uncle  Sam, 

Long  live  the  memory  of  old  Uncle  Sam. 

Every  boat  was  a  ship,  every  ship  was  a  fleet ; 
Every  boy  was  a  sailor,  every  fisherman  a  mate,  sir ; 
And  then  if  the  British  but  peep'd  from  their  holes, 
They  hook'd  them  as  easy  as  cod  from  the  shoals,  sir. 

Proud  be  the  memory  of  old  Uncle  Sam, 

Long  live  the  memory  of  old  Uncle  Sam. 

Uncle  Sam  now  obtained  some  allies  and  a  fleet, 

Some  bayonets  and  men,  with  some  rations  to  eat,  sir ; 

Then  in  taking  Cornwallis,  so  light  was  the  job, 

That  they  shelled  him  as  farmers  do  corn  from  the  cob,  sir. 

These  were  the  proud  days  of  old  Uncle  Sam, 

Long  live  the  memory  of  old  Uncle  Sam. 

At  length,  Johnny  Bull  thought  'twas  best  to  make  a  peace ; 
Eor  in  fighting  for  the  feathers,  he  had  lost  all  the  geese,  sir. 
Then  each  made  a  promise  they  would  do  no  more  harm, 
So  he  left  Uncle  Sam  and  his  boys  with  the  farm,  sir. 

Proud  be  the  birthday  of  old  Uncle  Sam, 

Long  live  the  memory  of  old  Uncle  Sam. 

In  the  year  1830,  Col.  Barker  was  elected  an  associate 
judge  of  the  Court  of  Common  Pleas,  and  at  the  expiration 
of  the  term  in  1837,  was  again  re-elected,  which  post  he 
held  until  his  declining  health  led  him  to  resign  in  1842. 
The  duties  of  this  office  were  discharged  with  great  dignity 
and  propriety,  while  his  intimate  knowledge  of  the  princi- 
ples of  law  enabled  him  to  give  correct  and  satisfactory 
decisions  when  his  opinion  was  required. 

His  acquaintance  through  the  state  of  Ohio  was  extensive, 
and  his  friends  numerous.  In  hospitality,  he  was  unsur- 
passed; fond  of  social  intercourse,  gifted  with  a  ready  flow 
of  language,  and  a  mind  well  stored  with  historical  facts, 
his  conversation  was  both  instructive  and  interesting.     This 


JOSEPH    BARKER.  463 

rendered  his  society  very  pleasing  to  both  young  and  old. 
From  the  time  of  his  settlement  on  the  Muskingum,  in  1795, 
to  the  period  of  his  death,  in  1843,  nearly  half  a  century, 
his  house  was  open  to  receive  the  weary  and  destitute  emi- 
grant, the  transient  traveler,  or  the  familiar  friend;  ever 
delighting  in  the  opportunity  of  rendering  a  kindness  to  his 
fellow-man. 

He  was  the  father  of  ten  children,  four  sons  and  six 
daughters,  who,  all  but  one,  were  living  at  his  death,  and 
most  of  them  have  large  families  of  children,  making  nu- 
merous descendants  to  bear  onward  the  family  name. 

Mrs.  Barker  died  in  1835. 

Nearly  all  those  with  whom  he  had  "  stood  shoulder  to 
shoulder"  during  the  Indian  war,  and  the  trials  incident  to 
a  new  country,  had  been  called  away  before  him,  and  he 
felt  that  he  was  somewhat  alone  in  the  world,  but  he  still 
retained  the  vigor  of  mind  incident  to  younger  days. 

He  died  in  September,  1843,  aged  seventy-eight  years. 

In  person,  Col.  Barker  was  tall  and  commanding,  with  a 
stout,  muscular  frame ;  finely  formed  features,  of  rather  a 
Roman  cast,  indicating  manly  firmness  and  intellectual 
vigor.  His  manners  were  easy,  naturally  graceful  and  gen- 
tlemanly, with  the  appearance  and  bearing  of  a  man  of 
superior  mind  and  talents;  born  to  lead  in  the  councils, 
and  to  command  the  respect  of  the  community  in  which 
he  dwelt. 


HAMILTON    KERR. 

This  bold,  active,  and  enterprising  borderer,  was  one  of 
the  spies,  or  rangers,  employed  for  the  defense  of  the  Ohio 
Company  settlements  during  the  Indian  war.  He  was  a 
finished  backwoodsman,  an  adept  in  all  the  wiles  and  craft 
of  the  hunter,  as  well  as  in  the  arts  of  partizan  warfare. 
He  possessed  the  coolness  and  caution  of  old  Isaac  Wil- 
liams, with  the  bravery  and  activity  of  Lewis  Wetzel,  having 
been  trained  under  the  instruction  and  example  of  both 
these  noted  pioneers. 

Matthew  Kerr,  the  father  of  Hamilton,  was  of  Scotch  de- 
scent, from  one  of  the  northern  counties  of  Ireland.  He 
immigrated  to  America,  before  the  Revolutionary  war,  and 
lived  in  Philadelphia,  where  his  son  Hamilton  was  born. 
Soon  after  the  close  of  the  war,  he  moved  his  family  west 
of  the  mountains,  and  settled  on  Chartier  creek,  below  Pitts- 
burg. After  staying  here  a  short  time,  he  removed  to  Wheel- 
ing, and  lived  in  the  vicinity  of  the  Wetzels  for  several 
years.  In  1787  he  transferred  his  residence  to  the  island, 
just  above  the  mouth  of  the  Muskingum,  and  Hamilton, 
then  in  the  prime  of  manhood,  engaged  as  a  hunter  for  the 
garrison  of  Fort  Harmer,  supplying  them  with  wild  meat. 

While  living  on  Wheeling  creek,  he  was  often  the  compan- 
ion of  Lewis  Wetzel,  the  most  famous  hunter,  and  killer  of  In- 
dians, in  all  that  region ;  having  killed,  it  is  said,  thirty-seven 
in  the  course  of  his  life.  His  athletic  frame,  and  bold  bear- 
ing when  a  boy,  won  for  him  the  good-will  of  Lewis,  and  he 
promised  to  give  him  the  first  opportunity  that  occurred,  of 
firing  at  an  Indian,  provided  he  felt  certain  that  he  could 
"  draw  a  sight"  at  one,  without  trembling.  The  well-grown 
lad,  then  in  his  eighteenth  year,  answered,  fearlessly,  that. 


HAMILTON    KERR.  465 

he  would.  It  was  not  long  before  Lewis,  in  one  of  his  hunt- 
ing trips,  fell  on  the  trail  of  a  party,  and  traced  up  their 
camp.  He  directly  hastened  back  for  his  young  friend, 
whom  he  found  ready  and  willing  for  the  attack.  They  crept 
silently  up  to  within  a  sure  distance  of  their  camp  fire,  and 
at  the  dawn  of  day,  each  selecting  his  man  from  a  party  of 
five  or  six,  who  were  sitting  in  a  circle  round  the  fire,  having 
just  risen  from  sleep,  fired  at  the  same  time.  Hamilton's 
victim  was  sitting  on  a  log,  eating  a  roasted  goose  egg,  and 
fell  dead,  into  the  ashes ;  while  Wetzel's  man  was  mortally 
wounded,  but  fled,  and  secreted  himself  in  a  tree-top.  They 
immediately  rushed  out  from  their  covert,  and  with  loud 
yells,  calling  out,  "  Come  on,  boys,  come  on ;  why  don't  you 
head  'em;"  as  if  there  were  quite  a  number  of  white  men 
in  the  attack.  The  remaining  Indians  took  to  flight,  without 
waiting  to  count  their  foes,  and  secreted  themselves  in  the 
thickets.  After  taking  the  scalp  of  the  dead  Indian,  they 
left  the  ground;  and  coming  out  the  next  day  with  a  larger 
party,  traced  the  wounded  Indian  by  his  blood,  and  found 
him  dead  in  the  spot  where  he  had  hidden.  This  was  Kerr's 
first  adventure  with  the  Indians,  and  might  be  construed  as 
an  omen  of  future  success ;  although  his  next  rencounter  was 
less  propitious. 

The  time  of  a  large  portion  of  the  young  men  who  lived 
on  the  frontiers,  was  occupied  in  hunting  and  trapping;  lit- 
tle attention  being  paid  to  cultivation  of  the  earth,  beyond 
the  wants  of  the  family  for  bread,  which  was  chiefly  made 
from  corn  meal.  There  was  no  market  for  produce  ;  while 
there  was  a  steady  demand  for  skins  and  peltry,  by  the 
traders,  who  collected  them  at  various  points  along  the  wa- 
ter-courses, and  transmitted  them,  on  pack-horses,  across  the 
mountains,  to  Baltimore  or  Philadelphia.  This  manner  of 
dealing,  made  hunting  a  regular  employment,  like  farming 

in  these  days. 
30 


466  HAMILTON     KERR. 

In  the  spring  of  the  year  1784,  before  Fort  Harmer  was 
built,  or  any  settlements  made  by  the  whites,  between  Ba- 
ker's station  and  the  mouth  of  Big  Kenawha,  a  party  of 
young  men  left  the  post  in  a  large  canoe  on  a  trapping  and 
hunting  expedition.    It  was  composed  of  Lewis  and  George 
Wetzel,  John  Greene,  Hamilton  Kerr,  and  one  other  man. 
They  dropped  down  the  river  as  low  as  Muskingum  island, 
where   they  encamped.      The   next   day  at  evening  they 
went  over  to  the  mouth  of  the  Muskingum,  and  set  their 
traps  for  beaver,  returning  to  the  island  as  a  safe  place  for 
their  camp,  against  the  attack  of  the  Indians.     The  follow- 
ing morning  they  went  down  again,  and  thirty  or  forty  rods 
above  the  mouth,  landed  two  of  their  party  to  reconnoiter, 
and  examine  the  woods  for  signs  of  an  enemy,  while  the 
other  three  remained  in  the  canoe,  and  went  into  the  Mus- 
kingum to  examine  their  traps.     They  directly  discovered 
that  several  of  them  were  missing,  and  immediately  con- 
cluded that  a  party  of  Indians  had  discovered  their  marks, 
and  stolen  them.      George  Wetzel   soon  returned  to  the 
canoe,  and  reported  that  he  had  seen  no  Indians,  but  plenty 
of  signs  of  bears,  which  had  been  wallowing  and  tearing 
lown  the  weeds  in  several  places.     This  confirmed  their 
suspicions  that  they  were  in  the  vicinity  of  a  large  party  of 
Indians.      Taking  George  on  board,  they  pushed  up  the 
Ohio,  and  had  proceeded  twenty  or  thirty  rods  on  their  re- 
turn, when  four  Indians  stepped  on  to  the  bank,  and  from 
behind  trees  fired  upon  the  men  in  the  canoe.    George  Wet- 
zel was  shot  through  the  head,  and  fell  dead  into  the  boat. 
Kerr  was  shot  in  the  left  arm  above  the  elbow,  splintering 
the  bone,  and  received  a  bullet  at  the  same  time  through 
the  fleshy  portion  of  his  side.     His  dog,  a  noble,  large  an- 
imal   standing  by  his  master,  was  also  killed.     The  other 
two  men  escaped  injury;  and  pushing  out  into  the  stream 
before  they  could  reload,  were  soon  out  of  danger. 


HAMILTON    KERR.  467 

John  Greene,  who  rambled  farther  into  the  woods  than 
George,  had  returned  to  within  a  few  rods  of  the  bank, 
when  the  Indians  fired,  and  hearing  the  report  of  their  rifles, 
rushed  up  to  see  what  his  comrades  had  shot  at.  As  he  ap- 
proached within  twenty  yards  of  the  bank,  he  saw  an  In- 
dian behind  a  tree,  in  the  act  of  pushing  down  a  bullet  in 
his  rifle.  Comprehending  at  once  the  condition  of  the  par- 
ties, he  instantly  raised  his  piece,  fired,  and  the  Indian  fell 
dead,  tumbling  headlong  down  the  bank,  near  the  brink  of 
which  he  was  standing,  and  rolled  close  to  the  water's  edge. 
The  other  Indians,  hearing  the  report  of  the  shot,  and  see- 
ing their  dead  companion,  came  rushing  upon  their  new 
enemy  before  he  could  reload.  His  only  safety  was  now 
in  flight;  and  running  toward  the  swamp  a  short  distance 
back  from  the  river,  in  the  windings  and  turnings  of  the 
pursuit,  counted  not  less  than  ten  or  twelve  Indians,  whom 
the  shots  and  the  war-cry  of  the  savages  had  called  into  the 
chase.  After  wading  in  the  water  for  some  time,  and  seeing 
no  chance  for  escape  by  flight,  he  secreted  himself  under 
the  tops  of  a  fallen  tree,  whose  leaves  and  branches  shel- 
tered him  from  observation.  As  a  further  precaution,  he 
buried  himself  beneath  the  water,  leaving  only  so  much  of 
his  face  uncovered  as  allowed  of  respiration.  This  was  a 
common  mode  of  eluding  pursuit,  practiced  by  the  natives, 
as  well  as  cunning  white  men.  The  Indians,  a  few  rods 
behind,  traced  him  by  the  turbid  appearance  of  the  water, 
and  walked  directly  on  to  the  trunk,  beneath  whose  top  he 
lay  concealed.  Looking  up  through  his  leafy  covert,  he 
plainly  saw  his  enemies,  peering  into  every  crevice,  and  be- 
hind every  twig  for  their  victim,  vociferating  in  angry  tones 
their  vengeful  thoughts,  and  pointing  with  their  gun-sticks 
to  the  recent  signs  of  his  flight.  Greene  lay  perfectly  quiet, 
hardly  daring  to  breathe,  fearing  lest  even  the  beating  of 
his  heart  should  agitate  the  water;  watching  with  intense 


468  HAMILTON    KERR. 

anxiety  their  movements,  until  finally,  to  his  great  relief, 
they  gave  up  the  search  as  hopeless.  As  soon  as  the  dark- 
ness of  night  concealed  his  movements,  he  left  his  watery 
bed,  wet,  weary,  and  hungry.  Having  a  long  journey 
before  him,  he  instantly  commenced  his  march  for  home, 
thankful  that  he  had  been  able  to  escape  the  scalping-knife 
of  his  foes.  He  traveled  across  the  ridges,  the  nearest 
route,  well  known  to  the  hunters  of  that  day.  In  the  course 
of  his  journey  he  passed  no  less  than  three  deserted  Indian 
hunting  camps,  so  recently  left  that  the  fire  was  still  burn- 
ing, without  being  discovered.  So  rapid  was  his  march, 
that  he  reached  Baker's  before  his  companions  in  the  canoe, 
who  pushed  up  stream  as  rapidly  as  they  could,  and  buried 
the  dead  man  on  an  island  twenty-five  miles  above  Mari- 
etta, now  known  as  Williamson's.  This  mournful  work  de- 
tained them  some  time,  as  they  had  no  spades  but  their 
wooden  paddles  with  which  to  dig  the  grave.  The  favorite 
dog  of  Kerr,  whose  dead  body  had  made  a  pillow  for  the 
head  of  his  wounded  master,  was  buried  at  the  same  place. 

A  few  miles  above  this  island  at  the  head  of  the  Long 
reach,  a  spot  well  known  to  old  as  well  as  modern  boatmen, 
they  discovered  just  at  evening,  during  a  heavy  shower  of 
rain,  on  the  Virginia  shore,  a  white  horse  tied  to  a  stake 
near  the  water.  On  the  top  of  the  bank  they  saw  a  hickory 
tree  just  stripped  of  the  bark.  The  quick  apprehension  of 
the  borderers  instantly  understood  these  signs  as  denoting  a 
party  of  Indians  who  had  stolen  the  horse,  and  were  pre- 
paring a  bark  canoe  for  crossing  the  river.  The  shower 
coming  on  when  they  had  finished  it,  the  canoe  was  turned 
bottom  up,  and  the  Indians  had  crept  under  as  a  shelter 
from  the  storm.  This  prevented  the  whites  from  being  seen. 
They  directly  crossed  to  the  other  shore,  and  pushed  rapidly 
on  until  a  turn  in  the  river  hid  them  from  sight. 

Kerr's  arm  was  several  months  in  healing,  the  bone  being 


HAMILTON    KERR.  469 

splintered,  and  no  remedies  but  slippery-elm  bark  and  such 
other  simples  as  the  woods  afforded.  The  injuries  received 
in  this  excursion,  kept  Hamilton  from  any  other  adventures 
for  some  time.  When  able,  he  hunted  deer  in  the  neigh- 
boring hills  and  visited  the  stations  at  Grave  creek,  where 
Isaac  Williams  lived,  and  with  whom  he  had  become  quite 
a  favorite,  making  various  short  tours  of  trapping  and 
hunting  in  his  company,  so  that  his  house  was  as  free  to 
him  and  nearly  as  much  his  home  as  that  of  his  own  father. 

In  1785,  the  Indian  depredations  were  frequent  and  de- 
structive. Notice  having  been  received  of  a  large  war  party 
fitting  out  for  the  attack  of  Grave  creek,  the  settlement  was 
abandoned,  and  Mr.  Williams  moved  his  family,  with  the 
rest  of  his  neighbors,  to  Wheeling.  Kerr  also  made  this 
place  his  home  with  his  father.  It  was  during  this  period 
that  he  had  a  second  narrow  escape  from  death  by  the 
Indians. 

In  the  summer  of  1785,  in  company  with  Thomas  Mills 
and  Henry  Smith,  he  went  up  the  Ohio  a  few  miles,  near 
the  head  of  the  first  island  above  Wheeling,  spearing  fish 
by  torchlight.  While  busily  occupied  with  their  sport,  think- 
ing of  no  danger,  in  a  quiet,  shallow  eddy  near  the  shore, 
ten  or  twelve  Indians  who  had  been  attracted  by  the  light, 
rose  up  on  the  top  of  the  bank,  and  fired  a  volley  at  them. 
Mills,  who  was  in  the  bow  of  the  canoe  near  the  torch,  re- 
ceived several  balls  in  his  body  and  limbs,  and  fell  apparently 
dead,  into  the  bottom  of  the  boat.  The  others  were  un- 
harmed, but  also  fell  down  on  the  bottom  of  the  boat,  to 
screen  themselves  from  a  repetition  of  the  shots.  The  In- 
dians seeing  the  effect  of  their  fire,  dropped  their  guns, 
rushed  down  the  bank,  and  into  the  river,  with  the  intention 
of  dragging  the  canoe  ashore,  and  securing  the  scalps  of 
their  dead  enemies.  The  splashing  of  the  water  gave  no- 
tice of  their  approach ;  when  Kerr,  who  was  in  the  waist  of 


470  HAMILTON     KERR. 

the  boat,  sprang  into  the  bow,  and  brandishing  his  fish-spear, 
made  motions  to  stab  the  first  man  who  came  within  his 
reach.  The  long,  barbed  points  of  the  instrument,  made  it 
a  formidable  weapon  to  the  half-naked  bodies  of  the  sav- 
ages, while  the  resolute  bearing  of  the  man  who  wielded  it, 
made  them  "cautious  of  approaching  too  near.  Although 
he  could  have  plunged  it  into  several  of  them,  he  did  not 
think  it  prudent  to  do  so,  lest  they  should  seize  it,  and  drag 
him  ashore,  or  pull  him  out  of  the  canoe.  After  one  or  two 
minutes  spent  in  this  mimic  warfare,  the  boat  gradually  re- 
ceded, by  the  whirl  of  the  eddy,  into  deeper  water,  and  the 
man  in  the  stern,  having  so  far  recovered  his  senses  from 
the  first  shock,  as  to  begin  to  apply  his  paddle,  the)-  were 
soon  out  of  their  reach.  The  Indians,  now  with  loud  yells, 
and  aggravated  rage  at  their  disappointment  and  folly,  in 
leaving  all  their  guns  on  the  top  of  the  bank,  rushed  up  to 
regain  them,  and  running  along  the  sandy  beach  ahead  of 
the  boat,  waded  into  the  water,  breast-high,  to  bring  them 
nearer  the  canoe,  which  was  now  in  the  middle  of  the  stream. 
While  exulting  at  the  prospect  of  escape,  a  new  enemy 
sprang  up  on  the  opposite  side  of  the  river.  A  party  of  In- 
dians on  their  own  shore,  hearing  the  firing  and  shouts  of 
their  countrymen,  began  to  fire  at  them.  The  balls  passed 
all  around,  and  through  the  sides  of  the  canoe,  but  missed 
the  mark,  as  they  generally  dropped  into  the  bottom,  at  the 
sight  of  the  flash,  and  were  hid  by  the  sides  of  the  boat 
After  a  pursuit  of  one  or  two  miles,  Kerr  concluded  that 
this  slow  progress  would  be  their  destruction,  and  pushing 
manfully  ahead,  regardless  of  their  shots,  was  soon  out  of 
their  reach.  When  the  enraged  Indians  saw  that  their  vic- 
tims would  escape,  they  fell  to  taunting  them  with  insulting 
language  and  obscene  attitudes.  Kerr  then  keenly  felt  the 
v.  ant  of  his  trusty  rille,  with  which  he  could  have  shot  sev- 
eral of  them;  but  no  one  had  taken  his  arms  with  him,  not 


HAMILTON    KERR.  471 

expecting  to  meet  an  enemy,  or  to  have  use  for  anything, 
but  the  fish-spear.  When  they  reached  the  garrison  at 
Wheeling,  Mills  was  still  alive,  and  taken  into  the  town, 
where,  under  the  care  of  Mrs.  Rebecca  Williams,  and  one 
other  skillful  matron,  he  finally  recovered  from  his  hopeless 
condition,  having  not  less  than  twelve  or  fourteen  different 
wounds,  with  an  arm  and  a  leg  broken  by  the  shots  of  the 
savages.  On  this  occasion,  the  intrepidity  and  presence  of 
mind  in  Kerr,  no  doubt  saved  their  lives  from  the  toma- 
hawk, and  knives  of  the  Indians  ;  while  his  mode  of  defense, 
in  their  condition,  was  the  only  one  that  could  have  been 
effectual. 

The  winter  after  this  adventure  was  passed  in  Wheeling. 

Early  in  the  spring  of  1786,  Kerr,  in  company  with  Isaac 
Williams  and  a  Dutchman  named  Jacob,  made  a  visit  to 
the  deserted  plantations  at  Grave  creek,  to  look  after  the 
cattle  and  hogs  that  had  been  left  there.  They  passed  the 
night  in  an  empty  cabin  at  Little  Grave  creek,  about  a  mile 
above  the  larger  stream.  Soon  after  daylight  in  the  morning, 
they  heard  a  rifle  shot  in  the  direction  of  Mr.  Williams'  farm. 
Not  thinking  of  Indians,  he  attributed  the  shot  to  moving 
boatmen,  who  sometimes,  when  short  of  provision,  landed 
at  the  deserted  clearings  and  killed  a  hog.  It  so  happened 
that  a  party  of  four  Indians,  who  had  been  scouting  on 
Wheeling  creek,  had  that  morning  reached  the  Ohio  with 
their  plunder,  one  white  prisoner  and  some  horses;  seeing 
Mr.  Williams'  hogs,  they  killed  one  with  the  rifle  and  put  it 
into  their  canoe,  which  had  been  secreted  in  the  mouth  of 
the  creek.  Three  of  the  Indians  took  possession  of  the 
canoe  with  their  prisoner,  while  the  fourth  was  busied  in 
swimming  the  horses  across  the  river.  At  this  critical  junc- 
ture, Kerr  and  his  companions  started  at  a  rapid  gait  to 
arrest  the  marauders.  Being  in  the  prime  of  life  and  more 
active  than  his  companions,  he  reached  the  mouth  of  the 


472  HAMILTON    KERR. 

creek  first,  and  looking  down  the  bank,  saw  the  three  Indians 
standing  in  the  canoe.  At  the  feet  of  the  one  in  the  middle 
of  the  boat  lay  four  rifles  and  a  dead  hog,  while  a  fourth 
Indian  was  swimming  a  horse  over  the  Ohio,  a  few  rods 
from  the  shore.  An  Indian  in  the  stern  had  his  paddle  in 
the  water,  in  the  act  of  shoving  the  canoe  from  the  mouth 
of  the  creek  into  the  river.  Before  they  were  aware  of  his 
presence,  Kerr  shot  the  Indian  in  the  stern,  who  fell  into  the 
river.  The  crack  of  his  rifle  had  scarcely  ceased  when 
Williams  came  on  to  the  bank,  and  shot  an  Indian  in  the 
bow  of  the  canoe,  who  also  fell  overboard.  At  this  time 
Jacob  came  up,  and  handing  his  rifle  to  Kerr  as  the  better 
marksman,  he  shot  the  other  Indian  in  the  waist  of  the  boat, 
who  also  fell  into  the  water,  but  still  held  on  to  the  side  of 
the  canoe  with  one  hand.  So  amazed  was  the  latter  Indian 
at  the  fall  of  his  companions,  that  he  never  offered  to  raise 
one  of  the  rifles  at  his  feet  in  self-defense,  but  acted  like 
one  deprived  of  his  senses.  By  this  time,  the  canoe  impelled 
by  the  impetus  given  to  it  by  the  first  Indian,  had  reached 
the  current  of  the  Ohio,  and  was  some  rods  below  the  mouth 
of  the  creek.  Kerr  now  reloaded  his  own  gun,  and  seeing 
a  man  in  the  bottom  of  the  boat,  raised  it  in  act  of  firing, 
when  he,  discovering  the  movement,  called  out, "  Don't  shoot, 
I  am  a  white  man."  He  was  directed  to  knock  loose  the 
Indian's  hand  from  the  side  of  the  canoe,  and  paddle  to 
shore.  In  reply,  he  said  his  arm  was  broken.  The  current, 
however,  set  it  near  some  rocks  not  far  from  land,  on  to 
which  he  jumped  and  waded  out.  Kerr  now  aimed  his  rifle 
at  the  Indian  on  the  horse,  who  was  near  the  middle  of  the 
river.  The  shot  struck  close  by  him,  splashing  the  water 
on  to  his  naked  skin.  Seeing  the  fate  of  his  companions, 
the  Indian,  with  the  bravery  of  an  ancient  Spartan,  imme- 
diately slipped  from  the  horse,  and  swam  for  the  abandoned 
canoe,  in  which  were  the  rifles  and  ammunition  of  the  whole 


HAMILTON    KERR.  473 

party.  This  was  in  fact  an  act  of  necessity,  as  well  as  of 
noble  daring,  for  he  well  knew  he  could  not  reach  his  country 
without  the  means  of  killing  game  by  the  way.  There  was 
also  in  this  act  but  little  hazard,  as  his  enemies  could  not  cross 
the  creek  without  a  canoe,  while  the  current  had  now  set 
the  object  of  his  solicitude  beyond  the  reach  of  rifle  shot. 
He  soon  gained  possession  of  the  canoe,  crossed  with  it  to 
the  other  shore,  and  taking  out  the  arms  and  ammunition, 
mounted  the  captive  horse,  and  with  a  shout  of  defiance, 
escaped  into  the  woods.  The  canoe  was  turned  adrift  and 
taken  up  near  Maysville,  with  the  dead  hog  still  in  it,  which 
had  caused  their  discovery  by  their  shooting,  and  been  the 
source  of  all  their  misfortunes. 

The  following  year  he  moved  with  his  father  to  Devol's 
island,  near  Fort  Harmer,  where  the  latter  kept  several  cows 
and  supplied  the  officers  with  milk,  while  Hamilton  was 
employed  as  a  hunter  to  furnish  the  garrison  with  buffalo 
meat  and  venison.  Isaac  Williams  and  several  other  families 
also  moved  at  the  same  time,  being  the  spring  of  1787,  and 
opened  a  plantation  in  the  forest,  opposite  the  mouth  of  the 
Muskingum,  on  the  Virginia  shore.  In  the  spring  of  1791, 
after  the  death  of  Capt.  Rogers,  one  of  the  Ohio  Company's 
rangers,  he  was  hired  to  supply  his  place,  and  was  esteemed 
the  most  active  and  brave  man  in  that  hazardous  employ- 
ment. He  continued  to  serve  during  the  whole  war,  and 
several  Indians  fell  by  his  hand,  as  related  in  the  preceding 
history  of  the  Ohio  Company  settlements.  During  this 
period,  his  father's  family  left  the  island,  and  lived  within 
the  walls  of  the  garrison  at  the  Point.  The  Indians  killed 
his  father  early  in  the  war,  at  the  mouth  of  Duck  creek, 
which  still  further  sharpened  his  revenge  and  hate  of  the 
red  men. 

At  the  close  of  the  war  he  married  Susannah,  the  daugh- 
ter of  Col.  John  Nighswonger,  one  of  the  heroes  of  the 


(yjt/i* 


>^ 


474  HAMILTON    KERB. 

battle  of  Point  Pleasant.  She  was  well  educated,  and 
could  read  German  and  English,  while  Hamilton  could  do 
neither,  having  never  been  a  day  to  school  in  his  life.  He 
owned  a  share  of  land  in  the  Ohio  Company,  the  purchase 
money  for  which  was  earned  in  the  course  of  a  single  fall 
and  winter  hunt;  so  profitable  was  that  business  in  early 
times  to  skillful  hunters.  With  the  most  intelligent  men 
amongst  the  Ohio  Company's  settlers,  Kerr  was  a  great  fa- 
vorite, for  his  manly,  upright  conduct,  vigilance,  and  bravery 
in  guarding  the  settlements  from  the  attack  of  the  Indians. 

In  person,  he  was  of  a  full  medium  size,  being  five  feet 
ten  inches  in  hight,  as  ascertained  from  one  of  Col.  Sproat's 
old  pay-rolls,  with  limbs  fashioned  in  nature's  finest  mould ; 
form  erect,  and  movements  agile  as  any  red  man  of  the 
forest;  of  a  pleasant,  cheerful  temperament;  fight  complex- 
ion, blue  eyes,  and  reddish  hair,  denoting  his  Scotch  descent; 
fine,  full  forehead,  with  all  the  marks  of  a  superior  mind 
and  intellect.  This  had  received  no  training  but  what  his 
own  remarks  on  men  and  things  had  produced ;  but  for  re- 
flection and  strong  reasoning  powers,  was  far  superior  to 
men  of  his  class,  causing  him  always  to  be  looked  up  to  as 
a  leader  in  any  dangerous  emergency  by  his  companions. 

He  was  born  in  the  year  17G4,  malting  him  twenty  years 
old  at  the  time  the  Indians  wounded  him  at  the  mouth  of 
the  Muskingum. 

After  the  war,  he  settled  on  his  land  at  the  outlet  of 
Leading  creek;  learned  to  read  and  write,  became  a  sub- 
stantial farmer,  a  major  in  the  militia,  and  highly  esteemed 
by  all  his  neighbors.  He  has  been  dead  several  years, 
leaving  a  large  family  of  descendants,  who  live  in  Meigs 
and  Gallia  counties. 


ISAAC    WILLIAMS    AND    MRS. 
REBECCA    WILLIAMS. 

To  those  who  are  now  enjoying  the  benefits  of  the  toils 
and  dangers  of  the  early  explorers  and  pioneers  of  the 
valley  of  the  Ohio,  there  ought  to  be  no  more  pleasant  em- 
ployment than  that  of  recounting  their  exploits  and  preserv- 
ing the  remembrance  of  their  names.  It  is  a  duty  we  owe 
to  their  memory.  Amongst  that  hardy  list  of  adventurers, 
on  the  left  bank  of  the  Ohio,  none  are  more  worthy  of  pres- 
ervation than  those  at  the  head  of  this  article. 

Isaac  Williams  was  born  in  Chester  county,  Penn.,  the 
16th  of  July,  1737.  While  he  was  yet  a  boy,  his  parents 
moved  to  Winchester,  Va.,  then  a  frontier  town.  Soon 
after  this  event  his  father  died,  and  his  mother  married  Mr. 
Buckley.  WThen  he  was  about  eighteen  years  old,  the 
colonial  government  employed  him  as  a  ranger,  or  spy,  to 
watch  the  movements  of  the  Indians,  for  which  his  early 
acquaintance  with  a  hunter's  fife  eminently  fitted  him.  In 
this  capacity  he  served  in  the  army  of  Gen.  Braddock, 
during  his  short,  but  disastrous  campaign.  He  was  also 
attached  to  the  party  which  guarded  the  first  convoy  of  pro- 
visions to  Fort  du  Quesne,  after  its  surrender  to  Gen. 
Forbes,  in  1758.  The  stores  were  carried  on  pack-horses 
.over  the  rough  declivities  of  the  mountains,  continually 
exposed  to  the  attack  of  the  Indians,  for  which  the  deep 
ravines  and  narrow  ridges  of  the  mountains  afforded  every 
facility. 

After  the  peace  made  with  the  Indians,  in  1765,  by  Col. 
Bouquet,  the  country  on  the  waters  of  the  Monongahela 


ISAAC     WILLIAMS. 

began  to  be  settled  by  the  people  east  of  the  mountains. 
The  fertility  of  the  soil,  and  the  immense  growth  of  the 
forest  trees,  so  different  from  that  on  the  eastern  side  of  the 
mountain  ranges,  gave  a  romantic  charm  to  the  new  regions 
on  the  waters  of  the  Ohio,  and  made  it  a  desirable  abode  to 
the  backwoodsmen,  especially  as  it  abounded  with  wild 
game.  Amongst  the  early  emigrants  to  this  region  were 
the  parents  of  Mr.  Williams,  whom  he  conducted  across  the 
mountains,  in  1768,  but  did  not  finally  locate  himself  in  the 
west  until  the  following  year,  when  he  settled  on  the  waters 
of  Buffalo  creek,  near  the  present  town  of  West  Liberty, 
Brooke  county,  Va.  He  accompanied  Ebenezer  and  Jon- 
athan Zane  when  they  explored  and  located  the  country  at 
and  about  Wheeling,  in  the  year  1769.  Previous  to  this 
period,  however,  he  had  made  several  hunting  and  trapping 
excursions  to  the  waters  of  the  Ohio,  and  was  familiar  with 
its  topography.  In  returning  from  one  of  these  adventurous 
expeditions  in  company  with  two  other  men,  in  the  winter 
of  1769,  the  following  incident  befell  him. 

Early  in  December,  as  they  were  crossing  the  glades,  or 
table-lands  of  the  Alleghany  mountains,  they  were  over- 
taken by  a  violent  snow-storm.  This  is  always  a  stormy, 
cold  region,  but  on  the  present  occasion  the  snow  fell  to  the 
depth  of  five  or  six  feet,  and  put  a  stop  to  their  further 
progress.  It  was  succeeded  by  intensely  cold  weather. 
While  thus  confined  to  their  camp,  with  a  scanty  supply  of 
food,  and  no  chance  of  procuring  more,  one  of  his  compan- 
ions was  taken  sick  and  died,  partly  from  disease,  and 
having  no  nourishment  but  the  tough,  indigestible  skins  of 
their  peltry,  from  which  the  hair  was  first  burned  off  and 
then  boiled  in  their  kettle.  Soon  after  the  death  of  this 
man  his  remaining  companion,  from  the  difficulty  of  pro- 
curing fuel  to  keep  up  their  fire,  was  so  much  frozen  in  the 
feet  that  he  could  render  no  further  assistance.    He  managed, 


ISAAC    WILLIAMS.  477 

however,  to  bury  the  dead  man  in  the  snow.  The  feet 
of  the  poor  fellow  were  so  badly  frosted  that  he  lost  all  his 
toes  and  a  part  of  each  foot,  rendering  him  unable  to  walk 
for  nearly  a  month.  During  this  time  their  food  consisted 
of  their  skins,  of  which  they  had  a  good  supply,  boiled  into 
soup  with  the  water  of  melted  snow.  The  kind  heart  of 
Mr.  Williams  would  not  allow  him  to  leave  his  friend  in  this 
suffering  condition,  while  he  went  to  the  settlements  for  as- 
sistance, lest  he  should  be  attacked  by  the  wolves,  or  perish  for 
want  of  food.  With  a  patience  and  fortitude  that  would  have 
awarded  him  a  civic  crown  in  the  best  days  of  the  chival- 
rous Romans,  he  remained  with  his  helpless  companion  until 
he  was  so  far  recovered  as  to  be  able  to  accompany  him  in 
his  return  home.  So  much  reduced  was  his  own  strength 
from  the  effects  of  starvation,  that  it  was  several  months 
before  he  was  restored  to  his  usual  health. 

In  17G9  he  became  a  resident  of  the  western  wilds,  and 
made  his  home  on  the  waters  of  Buffalo  creek,  as  before 
noted.  Here  he  found  himself  in  a  wide  field  for  the  ex- 
ercise of  his  darling  passion,  hunting.  From  his  boyhood, 
he  had  discovered  a  great  relish  for  the  hunter's  life,  and  in 
this  employment  he  for  several  years  explored  the  recesses 
of  the  forest,  and  followed  the  water-courses  of  the  great 
valley,  to  the  mouth  of  the  Ohio,  and  from  thence,  along  the 
shores  of  the  Mississippi,  to  the  banks  of  the  turbid  Missouri. 
As  early  as  the  year  1770,  he  trapped  the  beaver  on  the 
tributaries  of  this  river,  and  returned  in  safety,  with  a  rich 
load  of  furs.  During  the  prime  of  his  life,  he  was  occupied 
in  hunting,  and  in  making  entries  of  lands.  This  was  done 
by  girdling  a  few  trees,  and  planting  a  small  patch  of  corn, 
which  operation  entitled  the  person  to  four  hundred  acres 
of  land.  Entries  of  this  kind  were  aptly  called  tomahawk 
improvements.  An  enterprising  man  could  make  a  number 
of  these  in  a  season,  and  sell  them  to  persons,  who,  coming 


478  REBECCA    WILLIAMS. 

later  to  the  country,  had  not  so  good  an  opportunity  to  se- 
lect the  best  lands,  as  the  first  adventurers.  Mr.  Williams 
sold  many  of  the  rights  for  a  few  dollars,  or  the  value  of  a 
rifle-gun,  which  was  then  thought  a  fair  equivalent;  of  so 
little  account  was  land  then  considered ;  and  besides,  like 
other  hunters  of  the  day,  thought  wild  lands  of  little  value, 
except  for  hunting  grounds.  There  was,  however,  another 
advantage  attached  to  these  simple  claims ;  it  gave  the  pos- 
sessor the  right  of  entering  one  thousand  acres  adjoining 
the  improvement,  on  condition  of  his  paying  a  small  sum 
of  money  per  acre  into  the  treasury  of  the  state  of  Virginia. 
These  entries  were  denominated  "Pre-emption  Rights ; "  and 
many  of  the  richest  lands  on  the  left  bank  of  the  Ohio  river 
are  now  held  under  these  titles.  After  the  conquest  of  Kas- 
kaskias  and  Post  Vincent,  by  Gen.  Clark,  in  1778,  Virginia 
claimed  the  lands  on  the  northwest  side  of  the  Ohio ;  and 
many  similar  entries  were  made  in  the  present  state  of 
Ohio,  especially  on  the  Muskingum  river,  as  high  up  as 
Duncan's  falls.  One  tract,  a  few  miles  above  Marietta,  is 
still  known  as  Wiseman's  bottom,  after  the  man  who  made 
an  entry  there. 

While  occupied  in  these  pursuits  he  became  acquainted 
with  Rebecca  Martin,  the  daughter  of  Mr.  Joseph  Tomlin- 
son,  of  Maryland,  then  a  young  widow,  and  married  her  in 
October,  1775.  Her  former  husband,  John  Martin,  had 
been  a  trader  among  the  Indians,  and  was  killed  on  the  Big 
Hockhocking,  in  the  year  1770.  A  man  by  the  name  of 
Hartness,  her  uncle  on  the  mother's  side,  was  killed  with 
him  at  the  same  time.  As  a  striking  proof  of  the  venera- 
tion of  the  Indians  for  William  Penn,  and  the  people  of  his 
colony,  two  men  from  Pennsylvania,  who  were  with  them, 
were  spared.  The  two  killed,  were  from  Virginia.  The 
fact  is  referred  to  by  Lord  Dunmore,  in  his  speech  at  the 
Tndian   treaty,   near   Chillicothe,  in    the   year  1774.      Mr. 


REBECCA    WILLIAMS.  479 

Williams    accompanied  Dunmore,  in   this    campaign,  and 
acted  as  a  ranger  until  its  close. 

By  this  marriage  he  was  united  to  a  woman  whose  spirit 
was  congenial  to  his  own.  She  was  born  on  the  14th  of 
February,  1754,  at  Will's  creek,  on  the  Potomac,  in  the  prov- 
ince of  Maryland,  and  had  removed,  with  her  two  brothers, 
Samuel  and  Joseph,  into  the  western  country,  in  1771,  and 
was  living  with  them  as  their  housekeeper,  near  the  mouth 
of  Grave  creek ;  and  for  weeks  together,  while  they  were 
absent  on  tours  of  hunting,  she  was  left  entirely  alone. 
She  was  now  in  her  twenty-first  year,  full  of  life  and  ac- 
tivity, and  as  fearless  of  danger  as  the  man  who  had  chosen 
her  for  his  companion.  One  proof  of  her  courageous  spirit 
is  related  by  her  niece,  Mrs.  Bakey,  now  living  near  Mari 
etta,  in  Wood  Co.,  Va. 

In  the  spring  of  the  year  1774,  she  made  a  visit  to  a  sister, 
Mrs.  Baker,  then  living  on  the  Ohio  river  opposite  to  the 
mouth  of  Yellow  creek.  It  was  soon  after  the  massacre  of 
Logan's  relatives  at  Baker's  station.  Having  finished  her 
visit,  she  prepared  to  return  home  in  a  canoe,  by  herself, 
the  traveling  being  entirely  done  by  water.  The  distance 
from  her  sister's  to  Grave  creek  was  about  fifty  miles.  She 
left  there  in  the  afternoon,  and  paddled  her  light  canoe  rap- 
idly along  until  dark.  Knowing  that  the  moon  would  rise 
at  a  certain  hour,  she  landed,  and  fastening  the  slender  craft 
to  the  willows  she  leaped  on  shore,  and  lying  down  in  a 
thick  clump  of  bushes,  waited  the  rising  of  the  moon.  As 
soon  as  it  had  cleared  the  tops  of  the  trees,  and  began  to 
shed  its  cheerful  rays  over  the  dark  bosom  of  the  Ohio,  she 
prepared  to  embark.  The  water  being  shallow  near  the 
shore,  she  had  to  wade  a  few  paces  before  getting  into  the 
canoe;  when  just  in  the  act  of  stepping  on  board,  her  naked 
foot  rested  on  the  dead,  cold  body  of  an  Indian,  who  had 
been  killed  a  short  time  before,  and  which,  in  the  gloom  of 


480  REBECCA    WILLIAMS. 

the  night,  she  had  not  seen  in  landing.  Without  screaming 
or  flinching,  she  stepped  lightly  into  the  canoe,  with  the  re- 
flection that  she  was  thankful  he  was  not  alive.  Resuming 
the  paddle,  she  arrived  at  the  mouth  of  Grave  creek  without 
any  further  adventure,  early  the  following  morning. 

Walter  Scott's  Rebecca,  the  Jewess,  was  not  more  cele- 
brated for  her  cures,  and  skill  in  treating  wounds,  than  was 
Rebecca  Williams  amongst  the  honest  borderers  of  the  Ohio 
river.  About  the  year  1784,  while  living  a  short  time  at  Wheel- 
ing, on  account  of  Indian  depredations,  she,  with  the  assist- 
ance of  Mrs.  Zane,  dressed  the  wounds  of  Mr.  Mills, 
fourteen  in  number,  from  rifle  shots.  He,  with  Hamilton 
Kerr  and  one  other  man,  were  spearing  fish  by  torch-light 
about  a  mile  above  the  garrison,  when  they  were  fired  on 
by  a  party  of  Indians  secreted  on  the  shore.  Mills  stood  in 
the  bow  of  the  canoe  holding  the  torch,  and  as  he  was  a 
fair  mark,  received  the  most  of  the  shots.  One  leg  and  one 
arm  were  broken,  in  addition  to  the  flesh  wounds.  Had  he 
been  in  the  regular  service,  with  plenty  of  surgeons,  he 
probably  would  have  lost  one  or  both  limbs  by  amputation. 
These  women,  with  their  fomentations  and  simple  applica- 
tions of  slippery-elm  bark,  not  only  cured  his  wounds,  at  the 
time  deemed  impossible,  but  also  saved  both  his  limbs.  In 
a  conversation  many  years  after,  she  said  her  principal 
dressings  were  made  of  slippery-elm,  the  leaves  of  stramo- 
nium, and  daily  ablutions  with  warm  water.  Many  similar 
cures  of  gun-shot  wounds  are  related,  as  performed  by  her 
in  the  first  settlement  of  the  country. 

Their  marriage  was  as  unostentatious  and  simple  as  the 
manners  and  habits  of  the  parties.  A  traveling  preacher 
happening  to  come  into  the  settlement,  as  they  some- 
times did,  though  rarely,  they  were  married  at  her  brother's 
house,  without  any  previous  preparation  of  nice  dresses, 
bride-cakes,  or  bride-maids;  he  standing  up  in  his  hunting 


REBECCA    WILLIAMS.  481 

dress,  and  she  in  a  short  gown  and  petticoat  of  homespun, 
the  common  wear  of  the  people. 

In  the  summer  of  1774,  the  year  before  her  marriage,  she 
was  one  morning  busily  occupied  in  kindling  a  fire  prepar- 
atory to  breakfast,  with  her  back  to  the  door,  on  her  knees, 
puffing  away  at  the  coals.  Hearing  some  one  step  cau- 
tiously on  the  floor,  she  looked  round  and  beheld  a  tall  In- 
dian close  to  her  side.  He  made  a  motion  of  silence  to 
her,  at  the  same  time  shaking  his  tomahawk  in  a  threatening 
manner,  if  she  made  any  alarm.  He,  however,  did  not 
offer  to  harm  her,  but  looking  carefully  around  the  cabin, 
espied  her  brother's  rifle  hanging  over  the  fire-place.  This 
he' seized  upon,  and  fearing  the  arrival  of  some  of  the  men, 
hastened  his  departure  without  any  further  damage.  While 
he  was  with  her  in  the  house  she  preserved  her  presence  of 
mind,  and  betrayed  no  marks  of  fear;  but  no  sooner  had 
he  gone  than  she  left  the  cabin  and  hid  herself  in  the  corn- 
field until  her  brother  Samuel  came  in.  He  was  lame  at 
the  time,  and  happened  to  be  out  of  the  way;  so  that  it  is 
probable  his  life  was  saved  from  this  circumstance.  It  was 
but  seldom  that  the  Indians  killed  unresisting  women  or 
children,  except  in  the  excitement  of  an  attack,  and  when 
they  had  met  with  resistance  from  the  men. 

In  1777,  the  depredations  and  massacres  of  the  savages 

were  so  frequent  that  the  settlement  at  Grave  creek,  now 

consisting  of  several  families,  was  broken  up.     It  was  the 

frontier  station,  and  lower  on  the   Ohio   than  any  other 

above  the  mouth  of  Big  Kenawha.     This  year  the  Indians 

made  their  great  attack  on  the  garrison  and  settlement  of 

Wheeling.    Mr.  Williams,  with  his  wife  and  the  Tomlinsons, 

moved  over  on  to  the  Monongahela  river,  above  Red  Stone 

old  fort.     Here  he  remained  until  the  spring  of  the  year 

1783,  when  he  returned  with  his  wife's  relations  to  their 

plantations  on  Grave  creek.     In  the  year  1784  he  had  to 
31 


482  ISAAC    WILLIAMS. 

remove  again  from  his  farm  into  the  garrison  at  Wheeling. 
Some  time  in  the  spring  of  the  succeeding  year  he  had  the 
following  adventure  with  the  Indians. 

John  Wetzel,  a  younger  brother  of  Lewis,  the  noted  In- 
dian hunter  and  Indian  hater,  (having  killed  above  thirty  of 
them,)  then  about  sixteen  years  old,  with  a  neighboring  boy 
of  the  same  age,  was  in  search  of  horses  that  had  strayed 
away  in  the  woods  on  Wheeling  creek,  where  the  father  of 
John  resided.  One  of  the  stray  animals  was  a  mare  with 
a  young  foal,  belonging  to  John's  sister;  and  she  had  offered 
the  colt  to  John  as  a  reward  for  finding  the  mare.  While 
on  this  service  they  were  captured  by  four  Indians,  who, 
having  come  across  the  horses  in  the  woods,  had  taken  and 
placed  them  in  a  thicket,  expecting  that  their  bells  would 
attract  the  notice  of  their  owners,  and  they  could  then  cap- 
ture them  or  take  their  scalps.  The  horse  wras  ever  a  fa- 
vorite object  of  plunder  with  the  savages,  as  not  only 
facilitating  their  own  escape  from  pursuit,  but  also  assisted 
them  in  carrying  off  the  spoils.  The  boys,  hearing  the  well 
known  tinkle  of  the  bells,  approached  the  spot  where  the 
Indians  lay  concealed,  and  were  taken  prisoners.  John,  in 
attempting  to  escape,  was  shot  through  the  arm.  On  their 
march  to  the  Ohio,  his  companion  made  so  much  lamenta- 
tion on  account  of  his  captivity,  that  the  Indians  killed  him 
with  the  tomahawk ;  while  John,  who  had  once  before  been 
a  prisoner,  made  light  of  it,  and  went  along  cheerfully  with 
bis  wounded  arm. 

The  party  struck  the  Ohio  river  early  the  following  morn- 
ing at  a  point  near  the  mouth  of  Grave  creek,  just  below 
the  clearing  of  Mr.  Tomlinson.  Here  they  found  some 
hogs  belonging  to  Mr.  Williams,  and  killing  one  of  them 
with  a  rifle  shot,  put  it  into  a  canoe  they  had  secreted  when 
on  their  way  out.  Three  of  the  Indians  took  possession  of 
the  canoe  with  their  prisoner,  while  the  other  Indian  was 


ISAAC    WILLIAMS.  483 

occupied  in  swimming  the  horses  across  the  river.  It  so 
happened,  that  Mr.  Williams,  with  Hamilton  Kerr,  and  Ja- 
cob, a  Dutchman,  had  come  down  from  Wheeling,  the  eve- 
ning before,  to  look  after  the  stock  left  on  the  plantation, 
and  passed  the  night  at  the  deserted  cabin  of  Tomlinson. 
While  at  the  outlet  of  Little  Grave  creek,  about  a  mile 
above,  they  heard  the  report  of  a  rifle  shot,  in  the  direction 
of  his  plantation.  "  Dod  rot  'em,"  exclaimed  Williams,  "  a 
Kentuck  boat  has  landed  at  the  creek,  and  they  are  shooting 
my  hogs."  Immediately  quickening  their  pace  to  a  rapid 
trot,  they,  in  a  few  minutes,  were  within  a  short  distance  of 
the  creek,  when  they  heard  the  loud  snort  of  a  horse.  Kerr 
being  in  the  prime  of  life,  and  younger  than  Williams, 
reached  the  mouth  of  the  creek  first.  As  he  looked  down 
into  the  stream,  he  saw  three  Indians  standing  in  a  canoe ; 
one  was  in  the  stern,  one  in  the  bow,  and  one  in  the  middle 
of  the  boat.  At  the  feet  of  the  latter  lay  four  rifles  and  the 
dead  hog ;  while  the  fourth  Indian  was  swimming  a  horse 
across  the  Ohio,  only  a  few  rods  from  shore.  The  one  in 
the  stern  was  in  the  act  of  shoving  the  canoe  from  the 
mouth  of  the  creek  into  the  river.  Before  they  were  aware 
of  his  presence,  Kerr  shot  the  Indian  in  the  stern,  who  fell 
into  the  water.  The  crack  of  the  rifle  had  barely  ceased, 
when  Mr.  Williams  came  on  to  the  bank,  and  shot  the  Indian 
in  the  bow  of  the  canoe,  who  also  fell  overboard;  Jacob 
was  now  on  the  ground,  and  Kerr  seizing  his  rifle,  shot  the 
remaining  Indian  in  the  waist  of  the  boat.  He  fell  over 
into  the  water,  but  still  held  on  to  the  side  of  the  canoe,  with 
one  hand.  The  whole  process  did  not  occupy  more  than  a 
minute  of  time.  The  canoe,  impelled  by  the  impetus  given 
to  it  by  the  Indian  first  shot,  had  reached  the  current  of  the 
Ohio,  and  was  a  rod  or  two  below  the  mouth  of  the  creek. 
Kerr  had  now  reloaded  his  gun,  and  seeing  another  Indian, 
as  he  thought,  laying  in  the  bottom  of  the  canoe,  raised  it 


484  ISAAC    WILLIAMS. 

in  the  act  of  firing,  when  he  called  out,  "  Don't  shoot,  I  am 
a  white  man."  Kerr  told  him  to  knock  loose  the  Indian's 
hand  from  the  side  of  the  boat,  and  paddle  it  to  the  shore. 
He  said  his  arm  was  broken,  and  he  could  not.  The  cur- 
rent, however,  set  it  near  some  rocks  not  far  from  land,  on 
to  whioh  he  jumped,  and  waded  out.  Kerr  now  aimed  his 
rifle  at  the  Indian  on  horseback,  who,  by  this  time,  had 
reached  the  middle  of  the  Ohio.  The  shot  struck  near  him, 
splashing  the  water  on  to  his  naked  skin.  He,  seeing  the  fate 
of  his  companions,  with  the  bravery  of  an  ancient  Spartan, 
slipped  from  the  back  of  the  horse,  and  swam  for  the  aban- 
doned canoe,  in  which  were  the  rifles  of  the  four  Indians. 
This  was,  in  fact,  an  act  of  necessity,  as  well  as  of  noble 
daring,  as  he  well  knew  he  could  not  reach  his  country, 
without  the  means  of  killing  game  by  the  way.  He  also 
was  aware,  that  there  was  little  danger  in  the  act,  as  his 
enemies  could  not  cross  the  creek  to  molest  him.  He  soon 
gained  possession  of  the  boat,  crossed,  with  the  arms,  to  his 
own  side  of  the  Ohio,  mounted  the  captive  horse,  which, 
with  the  others,  had  swam  to  the  Indian  shore,  and  with  a 
yell  of  defiance,  escaped  into  the  woods.  The  canoe  was 
turned  adrift,  and  taken  up  near  Maysville,  with  the  dead 
hog  still  in  it,  which  had  led  to  their  discovery  by  the  shot, 
and  was  the  caii3e  of  all  their  misfortunes. 

It  has  been  otated  that  Mrs.  Williams,  before  her  mar- 
riage, acted  as  housekeeper  for  her  brothers  several  years; 
in  consideration  of  which  service,  Joseph  and  Samuel  made 
an  entry,  of  four  hundred  acres  of  land  on  the  Virginia 
shore  of  the  Ohio  river,  in  that  broad,  rich  bottom,  directly 
opposite  to  the  mouth  of  the  Muskingum  river,  for  their 
sister;  girdling  the  trees  on  four  acres  of  land,  fencing,  and 
planting  it  with  corn,  and  building  a  cabin,  in  the  spring  of 
the  year  1773.  They  spent  the  summer  on  the  spot,  occu- 
pying their  time  with  hunting  during  the  growth  of  the  crop. 


ISAAC    WILLIAMS.  485 

In  this  time  they  had  exhausted  their  small  stock  of  salt 
and  bread-stuff,  and  lived  for  two  or  three  months  on  the 
boiled  meat  of  turkeys,  which  then  filled  the  woods,  and 
was  used  without  salt.  So  accustomed  had  Samuel  become 
to  eating  his  food  without  this  condiment,  that  it  was  some 
time  before  he  could  again  relish  the  taste  of  it ;  a  fact  that 
has  often  been  verified  in  others  under  similar  circum- 
stances; showing  that  the  use  of  salt  is  acquired  by  habit. 
The  following  winter  the  two  brothers  hunted  on  the  Great 
Kenawha,  where  bears  and  beavers  greatly  abounded.  Some 
time  in  March,  1774,  they  arrived  at  the  mouth  of  the  river 
on  their  return,  and  were  detained  some  days  by  a  remark- 
ably high  freshet  in  the  Ohio  river,  which,  from  certain  fixed 
marks  on  Wheeling  creek,  is  supposed  to  have  been  fully 
equal  to  that  of  February,  1832.  This  year  was  long 
known  among  the  borderers  as  that  of  Dunmore's  war; 
serving  .as  a  date  for  domestic  events,  and  noted  for  Indian 
depredations. 

The  land  entered  thus  early  for  Mrs.  Williams  still  re- 
mains in  the  possession  of  her  descendants,  but  was  for 
many  years  contested,  in  law,  by  other  more  recent  claim- 
ants, like  all  the  Virginia  western  lands ;  causing  great  ex- 
pense and  anxiety  to  the  rightful  owners. 

The  renewed  and  oft-repeated  inroads  of  the  Indians,  led 
Mr.  Williams  to  turn  his  attention  toward  a  more  safe  and 
quiet  home  than  that  at  Grave  creek.  Fort  Harmer,  at  the 
mouth  of  the  Muskingum,  having  been  erected  in  1786,  and 
garrisoned  by  United  States  troops,  he  decided  on  occupying 
the  land  belonging  to  his  wife,  which  embraced  a  large 
share  of  rich  alluvions,  and  was  in  sight  of  the  fort.  The 
piece  opened  by  the  Tomlinsons,  in  1773,  had  grown  over 
with  young  saplings,  but  could  be  easily  reclaimed.  He 
visited  the  spot,  and  put  up  a  log-cabin  in  the  winter,  and 


486  ISAAC    WILLIAMS. 

moved  his  family  thither  the  26th  of  March,  1787,  being  the 
year  before  the  arrival  of  the  Ohio  Company. 

Soon  after  the  removal  to  his  forest  domain,  his  wife  gave 
birth  to  a  daughter;  and  was  the  only  issue  by  this  marriage. 
He  was  now  fifty-two  yearn  old,  so  that  she  might  be  called 
the  child  of  his  old  age.  She  was  named  Drusilla;  and 
married  Mr.  John  Henderson ;  but  died  when  about  twenty 
years  old,  leaving  no  children. 

Soon  after  the  associates  of  the  Ohio  Company  had  set- 
tled at  Marietta,  a  very  friendly  intercourse  was  kept  up 
between  them  and  Mr.  Williams ;  and  as  he  had  now  turned 
his  attention  more  to  farming  than  hunting,  he  was  pleased 
to  see  the  new  openings  made  in  the  forest,  and  the  wilder- 
ness changing  into  the  home  of  civilized  man.  From  the 
destructive  effect  of  an  untimely  frost  in  September,  1789, 
the  crops  of  corn  were  greatly  damaged;  and  where  late 
planted,  entirely  ruined. 

In  the  spring  and  summer  of  1790,  the  inhabitants  in  the 
new  settlements  of  the  Ohio  Company,  began  to  suffer  from 
the  want  of  food,  especially  wholesome  bread-stuffs.  Many 
families,  especially  at  Belpre,  had  no  other  meal  than  that 
made  from  moldy  corn ;  and  were  sometimes  destitute  even 
of  this,  several  days  in  succession.  This  moldy  corn  com- 
manded the  price  of  a  dollar  and  a-half,  and  even  two  dol- 
lars a  bushel.  When  ground  in  their  hand-mills,  and  made 
into  bread,  few  stomachs  were  able  to  digest,  or  retain  it, 
more  than  a  few  minutes.  The  writer  of  this  article,  has 
often  heard  Charles  Devol,  Esq.,  then  a  small  boy,  relate, 
with  much  feeling,  his  gastronomic  trials  with  this  moldy 
meal  made  into  sap-porridge;  which,  when  made  of  sweet 
corn  meal,  and  the  fresh  saccharine  juice  of  the  maple,  was 
both  a  nourishing  and  a  savory  dish.  The  family,  then  liv- 
ing at  Belpre,  had  been  without  food  for  two  days,  when  his 


ISAAC    WILLIAMS.  487 

father  returned  from  Marietta,  just  at  evening,  with  a  scanty 
supply  of  moldy  corn.  The  hand-mill  was  immediately 
put  in  operation,  and  the  meal  cooked  into  sap-porridge, 
as  it  was  then  the  season  of  sugar-making.  The  famished 
children  swallowed  eagerly  the  unsavory  mess,  which  was 
almost  as  instantly  rejected;  reminding  us  of  the  deadly 
pottage  of  the  children  of  the  prophet ;  but  lacking  the  heal- 
ing power  of  an  Elijah  to  render  it  salutary  and  nutritious. 
Disappointed  of  expected  relief,  the  poor  children  went  sup- 
perless  to  bed,  to  dream  of  savory  food  and  plenteous  meals, 
not  realized  in  their  waking  hours. 

It  was  during  this  period  of  want,  that  Isaac  Williams  dis- 
played his  benevolent  feelings  for  the  suffering  colonists. 
From  the  circumstance  of  his  being  in  the  country  earlier, 
he  had  more  ground  cleared,  and  had  raised  a  large  crop 
of  several  hundred  bushels  of  good,  sound  corn.  This  he 
now  distributed  amongst  the  inhabitants  at  the  low  rate  of 
fifty  cents  a  bushel,  when  at  the  same  time  he  had  been  of- 
fered, and  urged  to  take,  a  dollar  and  twenty-five  cents  for 
his  whole  crop,  by  speculators ;  for  man  has  ever  been  dis- 
posed to  take  advantage  of  the  distresses  of  his  fellows. 
"  Dod  rot 'em,"  said  the  honest  hunter,  "I  would  not  let 
them  have  a  bushel."  He  not  only  parted  with  his  corn  at 
this  cheap  rate,  the  common  price  in  plentiful  years,  but  he 
also  prudently  apportioned  the  number  of  bushels  to  the 
number  of  individuals  in  a  family.  An  empty  purse  was 
no  bar  to  the  needy  applicant,  but  his  wants  were  equally 
supplied  with  those  who  had  money,  and  a  credit  given  un- 
til more  favorable  seasons  should  enable  him  to  discharge 
the  debt. 

Capt.  Devol,  hearing  of  Mr.  William's  corn,  and  the  low 
rate  at  which  he  sold  it,  made  a  trip  to  Marietta,  directly  af- 
ter the  adventure,  with  the  sap-porridge,"  to  procure  some 
of  it.     The  journey  was  made  by  land,  and  in  the  night, 


488  ISAAC    WILLIAMS. 

traveling  on  the  ridges  adjacent  to  the  river,  as  the  stream 
was  so  swollen  by  the  spring  flood,  as  to  prevent  the  ascent 
by  water  in  a  canoe.  He  chose  to  come  in  the  night,  on 
account  of  danger  from  the  Indians;  and  the  intrepidity 
of  the  man,  may  be  estimated,  from  his  traveling  this  dis- 
tance, twelve  or  fourteen  miles,  alone.  He  reached  Fort 
Harmer  at  daylight;  and  Maj.  Doughty,  after  giving  him 
a  warm  breakfast,  directed  two  soldiers  to  set  him  across 
the  Ohio,  in  the  garrison  boat.  Mr.  Williams  treated  him 
with  much  kindness;  and  after  supplying  him  with  corn, 
also  furnished  him  with  his  only  canoe,  in  which  to  trans- 
port it  to  his  home.  Capt.  Devol  was  unwilling  to  take  it; 
but  he  urged  it  upon  him,  saying  he  could  soon  make  an- 
other. In  after  years,  when  Capt.  Devol  owned  a  fine  farm 
and  mill  on  the  Muskingum  river,  Mr.  Williams  used  often 
to  visit  him,  and  pass  a  night  or  two  at  his  house,  which  was 
the  temple  of  hospitality,  in  the  most  social  and  pleasant 
manner,  talking  of  the  trials  and  sufferings  of  bygone  days. 

He  retained  a  relish  for  hunting  to  his  latest  years;  and 
whenever  a  little  unwell,  forsaking  his  comfortable  home, 
would  take  his  rifle,  and  favorite  old  dog  "  Cap,"  accompa- 
nied by  one  of  his  black  servants,  retire  to  the  woods,  and 
encamping  by  some  clear  stream,  remain  there  drinking  the 
pure  water,  and  eating  such  food  as  his  rifle  procured,  until 
his  health  was  restored.  Medicine  he  never  took,  except 
such  simples  as  the  forest  afforded.  The  untrodden  wilder- 
ness was  to  him  full  of  charms ;  and  before  the  close  of  the 
Revolutionary  war,  he  had  hunted  over  a  large  portion  of 
the  valley  of  the  Ohio,  sometimes  with  a  companion,  but 
oftener  alone,  leaving  his  favorite  Rebecca  to  oversee  and 
take  charge  of  the  little  plantation,  which  was  never  very 
extensive,  until  he  moved  to  his  new  home,  opposite  the 
mouth  of  the  Muskingum. 

From  his  sedate  manners  and  quiet  habits,  the  trapping 


ISAAC    WILLIAMS.  489 

of  the  beaver  was  a  favorite  pursuit;  and  after  he  was 
seventy  years  old,  if  he  heard  of  the  signs  of  one  being  seen 
within  fifty  miles  of  his  home,  would  mount  his  horse  with 
his  traps,  and  not  return  until  he  had  caught  it.  This  was 
a  great  art  amongst  the  hunters  of  the  west,  and  he  who 
was  the  most  successful  in  this  mystery,  was  accounted  a 
fortunate  man.  The  proceeds  of  a  few  months  hunt  often 
realizing  three  or  four  hundred  dollars  to  the  trapper.  He 
stood  high  in  this  branch  of  the  hunter's  vocation,  and  no 
man  could  catch  more  beavers  than  himself;  being  eminently 
qualified  for  this  pursuit,  both  by  disposition  and  by  prac- 
tice. He  was  a  close  observer  of  nature ;  taciturn  in  his 
manners,  and  cautious  in  his  movements ;  never  in  a  hurry, 
or  disturbed  by  an  unexpected  occurrence.  In  many  re- 
spects he  was  an  exact  portrait  of  Cooper's  beau  ideal  of  a 
master  hunter,  so  finely  portrayed  in  the  Pioneer,  and  other 
backwoods  legends. 

During  the  Indian  war,  from  1791  to  1795,  he  remained 
unmolested  in  his  cabin,  a  view  of  which  is  seen  in  the 
sketch  of  Fort  Harmer,  on  the  opposite  shore  of  the  Ohio, 
protected,  in  some  measure,  by  the  vicinity  of  that  fort,  as 
well  as  by  the  stockade  around  his  dwellings,  which  shel- 
tered several  families  besides  his  own. 

He  seldom  spoke  of  his  own  exploits,  and  when  related, 
they  generally  came  from  the  lips  of  his  companions. 
There  was  only  one  situation  in  which  he  could  be  induced 
to  relax  his  natural  reserve,  and  freely  narrate  the  romantic 
and  hazardous  adventures  that  had  befallen  him  in  his  hunt- 
ing and  war  excursions ;  and  that  was  when  encamped  by 
the  evening  fire,  in  some  remote  spot,  after  the  toils  of  the 
day  were  closed,  and  the  supper  of  venison  and  bear  meat 
ended.  Here,  while  reclining  on  a  bed  of  fresh  autumnal 
leaves,  beneath  the  lofty  branches  of  the  forest,  with  no 
listeners  but  the  stars  and  his  companion,  the   spirit  of 


490  ISAAC    WILLIAMS. 

narration  would  come  upon  him,  and  for  hours  he  would  re- 
hearse the  details  of  his  youthful  and  hazardous  adventures 
by  forest,  flood,  and  field.  In  such  situations,  surrounded 
by  the  works  of  God,  his  body  and  his  mind  felt  a  freedom 
that  the  hut  and  the  clearing  could  not  give.  In  this  man- 
ner the  late  Alexander  Henderson,  a  man  of  refined  taste, 
and  cultivated  manners,  has  said  that  he  passed  some  of 
the  most  interesting  hours  of  his  life,  when  hunting  with 
Mr.  Williams  on  the  head  waters  of  the  Little  Kenawha. 

In  person,  he  was  of  the  middle  size,  with  an  upright 
frame,  and  muscular  limbs;  features  firm,  and  strongly 
marked;  a  mild  expression  of  countenance,  and  taciturn, 
quiet  manners.  In  his  youth  he  does  not  appear  to  have 
been  addicted  to  the  rude  sports  and  rough  plays  so  con- 
genial to  most  of  the  early  borderers,  but  preferred  social 
converse,  and  an  interchange  of  good  offices  with  his  fel- 
lows. Although  he  lived  at  a  time  and  in  a  situation  where 
he  was  deprived  of  all  opportunity  for  religious  instruction, 
yet  he  appears  to  have  had  an  intuitive  dread  of  all  vicious 
words  or  actions.  The  writer  distinctly  recollects  hearing 
him  reprove  a  keel-boatman,  a  class  of  men  whose  language 
was  intermingled  with  oaths,  in  the  most  severe  manner,  for 
his  profanity,  as  he  passed  the  boat  where  the  man  was  at 
work.  Like  Isaac  and  Rebecca  of  old,  this  modern  Isaac 
and  Rebecca  were  given  to  good  deeds ;  and  many  a  poor, 
sick,  abandoned  boatman,  has  been  nursed  and  restored 
to  health  beneath  their  humble  roof.  So  intimately  con- 
nected are  their  names  with  the  early  settlers  of  the  Ohio 
Company,  that  they  deserve  to  go  down  to  posterity  to- 
gether. Many  years  before  his  death,  he  liberated  all  his 
slaves,  six  or  eight  in  number,  and  by  Ins  will  left  valuable 
tokens  of  his  love  and  good  feeling  for  the  oppressed  and 
despised  African. 

Full  of  days  and  good  deeds,  and  strong  in  the  faith  of  a 


■"■^u. 


H 
H 

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1—1 

CO 

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HARM  AN    BLENNERHASSETT.  491 

blessed  immortality,  Mr.  Williams  resigned  his  spirit  to 
Him  who  gave  it,  the  25th  of  September,  1820,  aged  eighty- 
four  years,  and  was  buried  in  a  beautiful  grove,  on  his  own 
plantation,  surrounded  by  the  trees  he  so  dearly  loved  when 
living. 


HARMAN    BLENNERHASSETT    AND 
MRS.    MARGARET    BLENNER- 
HASSETT* 

Harman  Blennerhassett,  Esq.,  was  a  descendant  of  a 
noble  family  of  Ireland,  in  the  county  of  Cork.  He  was 
born  in  Hampshire,  England,  in  the  year  1767,  while  his 
parents  were  there  on  a  visit.  The  family  residence  was 
Castle  Conway,  in  the  county  of  Kerry,  to  which  they 
shortly  after  returned.  He  was  educated  with  great  care, 
and  when  a  boy  attended  the  Westminster  school,  celebrated 
for  its  classical  excellence,  completing  his  studies  at  Trinity 
College,  Dublin,  whose  honors  he  shared  in  company  with 
his  relative,  the  celebrated  T.  A.  Emmitt.  They  read  law 
together  at  the  King's  Inn  Courts,  Dublin;  were  admitted  to 
the  bar  On  the  same  day  in  the  year  1790,  and  between 


*  These  celebrated  individuals,  although  not  attached  to  the  Ohio  Company  settlers, 
yet  came  into  the  territory  so  early  as  to  he  ranked  among  its  pioneers.  They  fill  so 
large  and  interesting  a  space  in  the  history  of  this  region,  and  did  so  much  for  the 
pecuniary  benefit  of  the  country  of  their  adoption,  that  they  deserve  a  place  amongst 
the  settlers  of  Washington  county. 


492  HARM  AN    BLENNERHASSETT. 

them  existed  ever  after  the  warmest  friendship.  Having 
spent  some  time  in  traveling  in  France  and  the  Netherlands, 
he  returned  and  practiced  at  the  bar  in  Ireland.  Expecting, 
however,  to  fall  heir  to  a  large  estate  in  a  few  years,  he 
made  but  little  effort  to  excel  in  the  law,  rather  cultivating 
his  taste  for  the  sciences,  music,  and  general  literature. 

At  the  death  of  his  father,  in  1796,  he  became  possessed 
of  a  handsome  fortune ;  but  on  account  of  the  troubles  in 
Ireland,  in  which  he  became  politically  involved,  he  sold  the 
estate  to  his  cousin,  Lord  Ventry,  and  went  to  England, 
where  he  soon  after  married  Miss  Agnew,  daughter  of  the 
lieutenant-governor  of  the  Isle  of  Man,  and  granddaughter 
of  Gen.  Agnew,  who  fell  at  the  battle  of  Germantown. 
Lord  Kingsale,  and  Admiral  De  Courcey,  of  the  navy,  both 
married  sisters  of  Mr.  Blennerhassett;  who,  expressing 
rather  freely  his  republican  principles,  in  opposition  to  his 
relations,  finally  concluded  to  visit  the  United  States,  and 
make  that  country  his  future  home,  where  he  could  utter  his 
sentiments,  and  enjoy  the  benefits  of  freedom,  undisturbed 
by  spies  or  informers. 

Before  sailing  for  America,  he  visited  London  and  pur- 
chased a  large  library  of  classical  and  scientific  books,  with 
a  philosophical  apparatus,  embracing  various  branches,  and 
arrived  in  New  York  in  1797.  By  the  aid  of  his  letters, 
wealth,  and  his  own  personal  and  literary  merit,  he  became 
acquainted  with  some  of  the  first  families  in  the  city.* 
Amongst  others  of  his  newly  acquired  friends,  was  Mr.  Jo- 
seph S.  Lewis,  a  rich  merchant  of  Philadelphia,  who  became 
his  business  agent,  and  for  many  years  his  firm  friend.  Mr. 
Blennerhassett  named  his  youngest  son  Joseph  Lewis,  in 
token  of  his  regard  for  him.  He  was  finally  a  considerable 
loser  by  this  connection,  and   after  Mr.  Blennerhassett's 


*  See  Whig  Review,  1844.     Article  by  Mr.  Wallace. 


HARMAN    BLENNERHASSETT.  493 

failure,  and  the  destruction  of  his  house  and  property, 
became  the  owner  of  the  island. 

His  stay  in  New  York  was  of  only  a  few  months'  contin- 
uance; when,  hearing  of  the  rich  valleys  and  beautiful 
country  on  the  Ohio  river,  he  crossed  the  mountains,  and 
after  spending  a  few  weeks  in  Pittsburg,  took  passage  for 
Marietta,  in  the  fall  of  the  year  1797.  Here  he  passed  the 
winter,  examining  the  vicinity  of  that  place  for  a  spot  on 
which  to  make  his  permanent  residence.  He  finally  decided 
on  purchasing  a  plantation  on  an  island  in  the  Ohio  river, 
fourteen  miles  below  the  mouth  of  the  Muskingum,  within 
the  jurisdiction  of  the  state  of  Virginia.  The  situation 
was  wild,  romantic,  and  beautiful ;  and  as  it  was  chiefly  in 
a  state  of  nature,  a  few  acres  only  being  cleared,  he  could 
reclaim  it  from  the  forest,  adorn  and  cultivate  it  to  his  own 
taste.  Its  location  also  gave  him  the  privilege  of  holding 
colored  servants  as  his  own  property,  which  he  could  not  do 
in  the  Northwest  Territory.  The  island  was,  moreover,  near 
the  settlement  of  Belpre,  composed  chiefly  of  very  intelli- 
gent and  well-educated  men,  disbanded  officers  of  the 
American  army,  whose  society  would  at  any  time  relieve 
him  of  ennui.  The  island  itself  was  a  picture  of  beauty, 
as  well  as  all  of  its  kind,  at  that  early  day,  before  the  hand 
of  man  had  marred  its  shores.  The  drooping  branches  of 
the  willow  laved  their  graceful  foliage  in  the  water,  while 
the  more  lofty  sycamore  and  elm,  with  their  giant  arms, 
protected  them  from  the  rude  blasts  of  the  storm,  and  gave 
a  grandeur  and  dignity  to  these  primitive  landscapes,  now 
only  to  be  seen  in  the  remoter  regions  of  the  west. 

The  island  at  present  known  as  "  Blennerhassett's,"  was 
then  called  "  Backus's,"  who  had  owned  it  since  1792.  It 
is  said  to  have  been  located  by  Gen.  Washington,  as  he 
owned  a  large  tract  of  land  immediately  below,  called 
"  Washington's  bottom,"  entered  by  him  in  the  year  1770. 


494  HARMAN    BLENNERHASSETT. 

It  was  first  surveyed  in  May,  1784,  on  a  land  warrant,  issued 
in  1780,  and  a  patent  made  out  by  Patrick  Henry,  governor 
of  Virginia,  in  1786,  to  Alexander  Nelson,  of  Richmond,  Va.; 
who  was  a  member  of  a  mercantile  firm  in  Philadelphia. 
By  a  bill  in  chancery,  of  the  High  Court  of  Virginia,  pro- 
cured by  Mr.  Blennerhassett,  to  perfect  his  title,  it  appears 
that  Elijah  Backus,  of  Norwich,  Conn.,  bought  of  James  Her- 
ron,  of  Norfolk,  Va.,  in  the  year  1792,  two  islands  in  the 
Ohio  river;  the  principal  one  being  the  first  below  the  mouth 
of  the  Little  Kenavvha,  then  in  the  county  of  Monongalia, 
containing  two  hundred  and  ninety-seven  acres,  for  the  sum 
of  two  hundred  and  fifty  pounds,  Virginia  currency,  or  about 
eight  hundred  and  eighty-three  dollars  and  thirty-three  cents. 
This  island  is  of  a  very  peculiar  form,  narrow  in  the  middle, 
and  broad  at  both  extremities. 

In  March,  1798,  Mr.  Blennerhassett  purchased  the  upper 
portion,  containing  about  one  hundred  and  seventy  acres, 
for  the  sum  of  four  thousand,  five  hundred  dollars,  and  soon 
after  moved,  with  his  wife  and  one  child,  on  to  his  new  pur- 
chase, living  in  a  large  old  block-house,  standing  about  half 
a  mile  below  the  upper  end  of  the  island,  built  in  the  time 
of  the  Indian  war,  by  Capt.  James.  Here  he  resided  while 
conducting  the  improvements  near  the  upper  end  of  the 
island,  and  building  his  island  mansion,  which  was  com- 
pleted in  1800.  A  good  deal  of  labor  and  heavy  expense 
was  necessary  in  preparing  the  ground  for  his  buildings  and 
the  gardens.  It  was  covered,  at  this  spot,  with  forest  trees, 
which  had  to  be  removed,  and  stumps  eradicated,  so  as  to 
leave  a  smooth,  level  surface,  with  extensive  landings  up 
and  down  the  banks  on  both  sides  of  the  river,  for  conveni- 
ent access  to  and  from  the  island.  Boats  of  various  sizes 
were  also  to  be  procured,  and  a  company  of  eight  or  ten 
black  servants  purchased,  as  waiters,  grooms,  watermen, 
&c.     His  outlays,  when  the  improvements  were  completed, 


HARM AN    BLENNERHASSETT.  495 

amounted  to  more  than  forty  thousand  dollars.  This  sum, 
expended  chiefly  amongst  the  mechanics,  laborers,  and 
farmers  of  this  new  region,  where  money  was  scarce,  and 
hard  to  be  obtained,  was  of  very  great  advantage  to  their 
interests ;  and  Mr.  Blennerhassett  may  be  considered  as  the 
greatest  benefactor,  in  this  respect,  that  had  ever  settled 
west  of  the  mountains. 

The  island  mansion  was  built  with  great  taste  and  beauty ; 
no  expense  being  spared  in  its  construction,  that  could  add 
to  its  usefulness  or  splendor.  It  consisted  of  a  main  build- 
ing, fifty-two  feet  in  length,  thirty  in  width,  and  two  stories 
high.  Porticoes,  forty  feet  in  length,  in  the  form  of  wings, 
projected  in  front,  connected  with  offices,  presenting  each  a 
face  of  twenty-six  feet,  and  twenty  feet  in  depth,  uniting 
them  with  the  main  building;  forming  the  half  of  an  ellipsis, 
and  making,  in  the  whole,  a  front  of  one  hundred  and  four 
feet.  The  left-hand  office  was  occupied  for  the  servant's 
hall ;  and  the  right  for  the  library,  philosophical  apparatus 
study,  &c.  The  drawing  which  accompanies  this  memoir 
is  a  correct  likeness  of  the  mansion,  taken  from  the  descrip- 
tion of  Col.  Barker,  one  of  the  principal  architects. 

A  handsome  lawn  of  several  acres  occupied  the  front 
ground ;  while  an  extended  opening  was  made  through  the 
forest  trees,  on  the  head  of  the  island,  affording  a  view  of 
the  river  for  several  miles  above,  and  bringing  the  mansion 
under  the  notice  of  descending  boats.  Nicely  graveled 
walks,  with  a  carriage-way,  led  from  the  house  to  the  river, 
passing  through  an  ornamental  gateway,  with  large  stone 
pillars.  A  fine  hedge,  of  native  hawthorn,  bordered  the 
right  side  of  the  avenue  to  the  house,  while  back  of  it  lay 
the  flower  garden,  of  about  two  acres,  inclosed  with  neat 
palings,  to  which  were  traced  gooseberry  bushes,  peaches, 
and  other  varieties  of  fruit-bearing  trees,  in  the  manner  of 
wall  fruits.    The  garden  was  planted  with  flowering  shrubs, 


496  HARM  AN    BLENNERIIASSETT. 

both  exotic  and  native;  but  especially  abounding  in  the  lat- 
ter, which  the  good  taste  of  the  occupants  had  selected  from 
the  adjacent  forests,  and  planted  in  thick  masses,  through 
which  wandered  serpentine  walks,  bordered  with  flowers, 
imitating  a  labyrinth.  Arbors  and  grottoes,  covered  with 
honeysuckles  and  eglantines,  were  placed  at  convenient  in- 
tervals, giving  the  whole  a  very  romantic  and  beautiful  ap- 
pearance. On  the  opposite  side  of  the  house  was  a  large 
kitchen  garden,  and  back  of  these,  orchards  of  peach  and 
apple  trees  of  the  choicest  varieties,  procured  from  abroad, 
as  well  as  from  the  Belpre  nurseries.  Lower  down  on  the 
island  was  the  farm,  with  about  one  hundred  acres  under 
the  nicest  cultivation ;  the  luxuriant  soil  producing  the  finest 
crops  of  grain  and  grass.  For  the  last  three  or  four  years 
of  his  residence,  a  large  dairy  was  added  to  his  other  agri- 
cultural pursuits,  under  the  management  of  Thomas  Neal, 
who  also  superintended  the  labor  of  the  farm.  The  garden 
was  conducted  by  Peter  Taylor,  a  native  of  Lancashire,  Eng- 
land, who  was  bred  to  the  pursuit,  but  under  the  direction 
of  Mr.  Blennerhassett,  whose  fine  taste  in  all  that  was  beau- 
tiful, ordered  the  arranging  and  laying  out  the  grounds. 

The  mansion  and  offices  were  frame  buildings,  painted 
with  the  purest  white,  contrasting  tastefully  with  the  green 
foliage  of  the  ornamental  shade  trees,  which  surrounded 
it.  An  abundance  of  fine  stone  for  building,  could  have 
been  quarried  from  the  adjacent  Virginia  shore,  but  he  pre- 
ferred a  structure  of  wood,  as  less  liable  to  be  damaged  by 
earthquakes.  The  finishing  and  furniture  of  the  apartments 
were  adapted  to  the  use  for  which  they  were  intended.  The 
hall  was  a  spacious  room ;  its  walls  painted  a  somber  color, 
with  a  beautiful  cornice  of  plaster,  bordered  with  a  gilded 
molding,  running  round  the  lofty  ceiling ;  while  its  furniture 
was  rich,  heavy,  and  grand.  The  furniture  of  the  drawing- 
room  was  in  strong  contrast  with  the  hall;  light,  airy,  and 


HARMAN    BLENNERHASSETT.  497 

elegant;  with  splendid  mirrors,  gay-colored  carpets,  rich 
curtains,  with  ornaments  to  correspond,  arranged  by  his 
lady  with  the  nicest  taste  and  harmonious  effect.  A  large 
quantity  of  massive  silver  plate  ornamented  the  sideboards, 
and  decorated  the  tables.  Yet  they  had  not  entirely  com- 
pleted their  arrangements,  when  the  destroyer  appeared, 
and  frustrated  all  their  designs  for  comfort  and  future  hap- 
piness. The  whole  establishment  was  noble,  chastened  by 
the  purest  taste,  without  that  glare  of  tinsel  finery,  too  com- 
mon among  the  wealthy. 

Their  style  of  living  was  in  unison  with  the  house  and 
furniture,  elegant,  easy,  and  comfortable. 

Mr.  Blennerhassett  was  a  highly  intellectual  man,  greatly 
devoted  to  scientific  pursuits,  which  his  ample  library  and 
leisure  time  afforded  every  facility  for  pursuing.  He  was 
studious,  and  fond  of  experimenting  in  chemistry,  electricity, 
and  galvanism.  His  apparatus,  though  not  extensive,  was 
ample  for  such  experiments  as  an  amateur  would  wish  to 
make.  Astronomy  was  also  a  favorite  study;  for  which  he 
had  a  fine  telescope  to  examine  the  constellations  in  their 
courses,  and  a  solar  microscope,  to  inspect  the  minuter 
bodies  of  the  earth.  In  music,  he  possessed  the  nicest 
taste,  and  an  uncommon  genius,  composing  harmonious 
and  beautiful  airs,  several  pieces  of  which  are  now  remem- 
bered and  played  by  a  gentleman,  who,  when  a  youth,  was 
intimate  in  his  family.  His  favorite  instruments  were  the 
base-viol  and  violoncello,  on  which  he  played  with  admira- 
ble skill.  The  spacious  hall  of  the  mansion  being  constructed 
so  as  to  give  effect  to  musical  sounds,  the  tones  of  his  viol 
vibrated  through  it  with  thrilling  effect,  calling  forth  the 
admiration  of  his  guests.  Electricity  and  galvanism  re- 
ceived a  share  of  his  attention,  and  many  experiments  were 
tried  in  both  these  wonderful  branches  of  modern  science. 

Amongst  his   trials  in  chemical  operations,  was  that   of 
32 


498  HARM  AN    BLENNER  H  ASSET  T. 

converting  beef  into  adipocere,  large  pieces  of  which  were 
submerged  in  the  beautiful  little  cove  between  the  landing 
and  the  sand-bar  at  the  head  of  the  island.  He  fancied  it 
might  be  used  in  place  of  spermaceti,  for  light ;  but  the  cat- 
fish and  perch  interfered  so  much  with  his  trials,  that  he 
could  never  brinp  the  adipocere  to  perfection.  He  was  a 
good  classical  scholar,  and  so  highly  was  he  enraptured  with 
Homer's  Iliad,  that  it  was  said  he  could  repeat  the  whole 
poem  in  the  original  Greek. 

His  manners  were  gentlemanly,  and  disposition  social, 
hospitable,  and  kind,  especially  to  those  with  whom  he 
wished  to  associate,  but  rather  haughty  to  others.  In  mind, 
he  could  not  be  said  to  be  masculine  and  strong,  but  was 
rather  wavering  and  fickle ;  easily  duped  and  deceived  by 
the  designing  and  dishonest.  He  had  quite  a  taste  for  med- 
icine, and  read  many  authors  on  that  subject,  which,  with 
his  natural  propensities,  often  led  him  to  think  himself  at- 
tacked with  imaginary  diseases,  and  it  was  sometimes  diffi- 
cult to  convince  him  they  were  merely  ideal.  To  his  sick 
neighbors  and  servants,  he  was  kind  and  attentive,  often 
visiting  and  prescribing  for  their  complaints ;  freely  tender- 
ing his  medicines,  of  which  he  always  kept  an  ample  sup- 
ply. His  own  heart  being  perfectly  honest  and  free  from 
deceit,  he  was  unsuspicious  of  others,  and  very  credulous 
in  regard  to  their  statements,  which  often  led  him  into  pecu- 
niary losses  in  his  business  transactions. 

In  bargaining  with  a  notorious  cheat  for  a  quantity  of  the 
shells  of  the  river  clam,  which,  in  the  early  settlement  of 
the  country,  before  quarries  of  limestone  were  opened,  were 
calcined  in  log-lieap.j,  and  used  for  plastering  rooms,  the 
fellow  said  it  was  a  difficult  matter  to  collect  them,  as  he 
had  to  dive  under  the  water  where  it  was  six  or  eight  feet 
deep,  and  must  charge  fifty  cents  a  bushel,  when,  in  fact,  he 
could  collect  any  quantity,  where  it  was  only  a  few  inches. 


HARMAN    BLENNERHASSETT.  499 

Thinking  the  man  told  the  truth,  he  paid  him  the  price, 
which  was  at  least  five  times  as  much  as  they  were  worth. 

He  was  very  kind  and  charitable  to  the  poor  and  unfor- 
tunate backwoodsmen.  A  Virginian,  who  had  lost  his 
house  and  furniture  by  fire,  was  soon  after  invited,  with  his 
wife,  to  dine  with  him.  This  man  owed  him  a  considerable 
sum  of  lent  money.  After  dinner  he  told  him  he  would 
either  cancel  the  debt,  or  give  him  an  order  on  his  store  at 
Marietta  for  an  equal  sum,  and  let  the  debt  stand.  The 
sufferer  was  a  man  of  honorable  mind  and  just  feelings.  He, 
therefore,  chose  not  to  add  to  his  present  obligations,  but 
accepted  the  canceling  of  the  debt,  which  was  immediately 
done.  This  man  still  lives,  and  related  the  incident  in 
1846.  Many  such  facts  were  known  to  have  occurred  while 
he  lived  on  the  island. 

His  wife  was  still  more  charitable  to  the  sick  and  poor  in 
the  vicinity,  many  of  whom  felt  the  benefit  of  her  gifts. 

With  all  these  kind  acts  fresh  in  their  memories,  several 
of  these  men  were  found  among  the  banditti,  who  ransacked 
his  house  and  insulted  his  wife,  after  he  had  been  forced  to 
leave  the  island  from  the  hue  and  cry  of  treason,  which 
maddened  and  infuriated  the  public  mind  in  the  valley  of 
the  Ohio. 

In  person,  Mr.  Blennerhassett  was  tall,  about  six  feet,  but 
slender,  with  a  slight  stoop  in  the  shoulders.  His  motions 
were  not  very  graceful,  either  as  an  equestrian,  or  on  foot; 
forehead  full,  and  well  formed ;  with  rather  a  prominent 
nose,  and  good  proportioned  face ;  eyes  weak,  and  sight  im- 
perfect; seeing  objects  distinctly  only  when  near;  so  that 
in  reading,  the  surface  of  the  page  nearly  touched  his  nose. 
They  had  a  nervous,  restless  agitation,  which  probably  arose 
from  weakness  of  the  optic  nerves,  requiring  the  constant 
aid  of  glasses.  Yet  with  this  permanent  and  continual  an- 
noyance, he  was  a  great  student  and  operator  in  experiments. 


500  HARMAN    BLENNERHASSETT. 

He  was  also  much  attached  to  hunting,  shooting  quails, 
and  other  small  game  on  the  island.  To  enjoy  this  sport, 
he  had  to  call  in  the  aid  of  some  other  person,  whose  vision 
was  more  acute  than  his  own,  who  pointed  the  gun  for  him 
at  the  game,  and  gave  the  word  when  to  fire.  This  person 
was  often  his  wife,  who,  with  the  greatest  kindness,  attended 
him  in  his  short  excursions,  and  with  the  tact  of  an  experi- 
enced sportsman,  pointed  out  the  object,  leveled  the  gun,  and 
stood  by  with  the  most  perfect  coolness,  while  he  discharged 
the  piece. 

His  general  habits  were  sedentary  and  studious ;  prefer- 
ring the  quiet  of  his  library  to  the  most  brilliant  assemblies. 
In  conversation,  he  was  interesting  and  instructive;  confin- 
ing his  remarks  to  the  practical  and  useful,  more  than  to  the 
amusing. 

As  a  lawyer,  his  wife,  who  had  probably  heard  his  forensic 
eloquence,  has  been  heard  to  say  that  he  was  equal  to  Mr. 
Emmitt ;  and  frequently  urged  him  to  enter  as  an  advocate 
at  the  higher  courts  of  Virginia  and  Ohio,  instead  of  wast- 
ing his  time  in  obscurity,  at  his  philosophical  pursuits  on 
the  island.  His  library  contained  an  ample  supply  of  law 
books.  A  list  of  thirty  volumes,  loaned  to  James  Wilson, 
a  lawyer  of  Virginia,  a  few  days  before  he  left  the  island,  is 
now  among  his  papers  in  the  hands  of  his  agent  at  Marietta. 

Mr.  Blennerhassett  dressed  in  the  old  English  style,  with 
scarlet  or  buff-colored  small  clothes,  and  silk  stockings ; 
shoes  with  silver  buckles,  and  coat  generally  of  blue  broad- 
cloth. When  at  home,  his  dress  was  rather  careless ;  often, 
in  warm  weather,  in  his  shirt-sleeves,  without  coat  or 
waist-coat ;  and  in  winter,  wore  a  thick  woolen  roundabout, 
or  short  jacket. 

In  this  quiet  retreat,  insulated  and  separated  from  the 
noise  and  tumult  of  the  surrounding  world,  amidst  his 
books,  with   the   company  of  his   accomplished   wife   and 


MARGARET    BLENNERHASSETT.  501 

children,  he  possessed  all  that  seemed  necessary  for  the 
happiness  of  man;  and  yet  he  lacked  one  thing,  without 
which  no  man  can  be  happy :  a  firm  belief  in  the  overruling 
providence  of  God.  Voltaire  and  Rosseau,  whose  works 
he  studied  and  admired,  had  poisoned  his  mind  to  the  simple 
truths  of  the  gospel,  and  the  Bible  was  a  book  which  he 
seldom  or  never  consulted.  At  least  this  was  the  fact  while 
he  lived  on  the  island ;  whatever  it  might  have  been,  after 
misfortune  and  want  had  humbled  and  sorely  tried  him. 

Mrs.  Blennerhassett  was  more  aspiring  and  ambitious; 
with  a  temperament  in  strong  contrast  to  that  of  her  hus- 
band. Her  maiden,  name  was  Margaret  Agnew ;  the  daugh- 
ter of  Capt.  Agnew,  a  brave  officer  in  the  British  service, 
and  at  one  time  the  lieutenant-governor  of  the  Isle  of  Man. 
Gen.  Agnew,  who  fell  at  the  battle  of  Germantown,  in  the 
American  Revolution,  was  her  grandfather,  and  a  monu- 
ment was  erected  to  his  memory  by  his  granddaughter,  af- 
ter her  arrival  in  America.  She  was  educated  and  brought 
up  by  two  maiden  aunts,  who  took  great  care  to  instruct 
her  in  all  the  useful  arts  of  housewifery,  laundry,  pastry, 
sewing,  &c,  which  was  of  great  use  to  her  in  after-life,  when 
at  the  head  of  a  family.  They  were  led  to  this,  in  part  from 
their  own  limited  means,  teaching  them  to  be  frugal,  and  the 
need  there  is,  for  every  woman  who  expects  to  marry,  to  be 
acquainted  with  all  the  useful  branches  of  housekeeping. 

In  person,  Mrs.  Blennerhassett  was  tall  and  commanding, 
of  the  most  perfect  proportions,  with  dignified  and  graceful 
manners,  finely  molded  features,  and  very  fair,  transparent 
complexion;  eyes  dark  blue,  sparkling  with  life  and  intelli- 
gence ;  hair,  a  rich,  deep  brown,  profuse  and  glossy,  dressed 
in  the  most  elegant  manner.  When  at  her  island-home,  she 
often  wore  a  head-dress  of  colored  silk  stuff,  folded  very 
full,  something  in  the  manner  of  an  eastern  turban,  giving 
a  noble  and  attractive  appearance  to  the  whole  person. 


502  MARGARET    BLE  N  NE  RH  ASS  E  TT. 

These  were  of  various  colors,  but  always  composed  of  a  sin- 
gle one,  either  of  pink,  yellow,  or  white,  adjusted  in  the  most 
becoming  manner  and  nicest  taste ;  in  winch  particular,  few 
women  could  equal  her.  White  was  a  favorite  color  for 
dress  in  the  summer,  and  rich  colored  stuffs  in  the  winter. 
Her  motions  were  all  graceful,  and  greatly  hightened  by  the 
expression  of  her  countenance.  No  one  could  be  in  her 
company,  even  a  few  minutes,  without  being  strongly  at- 
tracted by  her  fascinating  manners.  A  very  intelligent  lady, 
who  was  familiarly  acquainted  with  her  in  her  best  days  on 
the  island,  and  has  since  visited  and  seen  the  most  elegant 
and  beautiful  females  in  the  courts  of  France  and  England, 
as  well  as  Washington  city,  says  that  she  has  beheld  no  one 
who  was  equal  to  her  in  beauty  of  person,  dignity  of  man- 
ners, elegance  of  dress,  and  in  short,  all  that  is  lovely  and 
finished  in  the  female  person,  such  as  she  was,  when  "  queen 
of  the  fairy  isle." 

When  she  rode  on  horseback,  her  dress  was  a  fine,  scarlet 
broadcloth,  ornamented  with  gold  buttons ;  a  white  beaver 
hat,  on  which  floated  the  graceful  plumes  of  the  ostrich,  of 
the  same  color.  This  was  sometimes  changed  for  blue  or 
yellow,  with  feathers  to  harmonize.  She  was  a  perfect 
equestrian;  always  riding  a  very  spirited  horse,  with  rich 
trappings,  who  seemed  proud  of  his  burthen ;  and  accom- 
plished the  ride  to  Marietta,  of  fourteen  miles,  in  about  two 
hours ;  dashing  through  and  under  the  dark  foliage  of  the 
forest  trees,  which  then  covered  the  greater  part  of  the  dis- 
tance, reminding  one  of  the  gay  plumage  and  rapid  flight 
of  some  tropical  bird,  winging  its  way  through  the  woods. 
In  these  journeys  she  was  generally  accompanied  by  Ran- 
som, a  favorite  black  servant,  who  followed  on  horseback, 
in  a  neat,  showy  dress,  and  had  to  apply  both  whip  and 
spur  to  keep  in  sight  of  his  mistress.  She  sometimes  came 
to  Marietta  by  water,  in  a  light  canoe,  (the  roads  not  being 


MARGARET  BLEN  NERH  AS  SE  T  T  .       503 

yet  opened  for  wheel-carriages,)  navigated  by  Moses,  an- 
other of  the  colored  servants,  who  was  the  principal  water- 
man, and  had  charge  of  the  boats  for  the  transport  of  pas- 
sengers from  the  island  to  the  main.  Her  shopping  visits 
were  made  in  this  way,  as  she  directed  the  purchase  of  gro- 
ceries, &c,  for  the  family  use,  as  well  as  for  the  clothing. 
She  possessed  great  personal  activity;  sometimes  in  fine 
weather,  choosing  to  walk  that  distance,  instead  of  riding. 
In  addition  to  her  feats  in  riding  and  walking,  she  could 
vault,  with  the  ease  of  a  young  fawn,  over  a  five-rail  fence, 
with  the  mere  aid  of  one  hand  placed  on  the  top  rail,  and 
was  often  seen  to  do  so,  when  walking  over  the  farm,  and  a 
fence  came  in  the  way  of  her  progress.  It  was  performed 
with  such  graceful  movement,  and  so  little  effort,  as  to  call 
forth  the  wonder  and  admiration  of  the  beholder. 

She  was  passionately  fond  of  dancing,  and  greatly  ex- 
celled in  this  healthful  and  charming  exercise,  moving 
through  the  mazes  and  intricacies  of  the  various  figures, 
with  the  grace  and  lightness  of  the  "  queen  of  the  fairies." 
Her  tastes  in  this  respect  were  often  gratified  in  the  numer- 
ous balls  and  assemblies,  given  at  that  day  in  Marietta  and 
Belpre,  as  well  as  at  her  own  house ;  where  the  lofty  hall 
frequently  resounded  to  the  cheerful  music  and  lively  steps 
of  the  dancers. 

With  all  this  relish  for  social  amusements,  Mrs.  Blenner- 
hassett  was  very  domestic  in  her  habits ;  being  not  only  ac- 
complished in  all  the  arts  of  housewifery,  but  was  also  an 
excellent  seamstress ;  cutting  out  and  making  up  with  her 
own  hands  much  of  the  clothing  of  her  husband,  as  well  as 
preparing  that  for  the  servants,  which  was  then  made  by  a 
colored  female.  At  that  period,  when  tailors  and  mantua- 
makers  were  rare  in  the  western  wilderness,  this  was  an 
accomplishment  of  real  value.  She  being  willing  to  prac- 
tice these  servile  acts,  when  surrounded  by  all  the  wealth 


504  MARGARET    BLE  N  N  E  RH  A  S  SE  TT. 

she  could  desire,  is  one  of  the  finest  and  most  remarkable 
traits  in  her  character;  indicating  a  noble  mind,  elevated 
above  the  influence  of  that  false  pride  so  often  seen  to  at- 
tend the  high-born  and  wealthy. 

She  was  a  very  early  riser ;  and  when  not  prevented  by  in- 
disposition, visited  the  kitchen  by  early  dawn,  and  often  man- 
ipulated the  pastry  and  cakes  to  be  served  up  on  the  table 
for  the  day ;  when  this  service  was  completed,  she  laid  aside 
her  working  dress,  and  attired  herself  in  the  habiliments  of 
the  lady  of  the  mansion.  At  table  she  presided  with  grace 
and  dignity,  and  by  her  cheerful  conversation  and  pleasant 
address,  set  every  one  at  ease  about  her,  however  rustic 
their  manners,  or  unaccustomed  they  might  be  to  genteel 
society. 

Her  mind  was  as  highly  cultivated  as  her  person.  She 
was  an  accomplished  Italian  and  French  scholar ;  and  one 
of  the  finest  readers  imaginable  ;  especially  excelling  in  the 
plays  of  Shakespeare,  which  she  rehearsed  with  all  the  taste 
and  spirit  of  a  first-rate  actor.  In  history  and  the  English 
classics,  she  was  equally  well  read ;  and  was  often  called 
upon  to  decide  a  disputed  point  in  literature,  under  discus- 
sion by  her  husband  and  some  learned  guest.  Her  deci- 
sions were  generally  satisfactory  to  both  parties,  because 
founded  on  correct  reasoning,  and  delivered  in  so  gracious 
a  manner.  Few  women  have  ever  lived,  who  combined  so 
many  accomplishments  and  personal  attractions.  They 
strongly  impressed,  not  only  intellectual  and  cultivated 
minds,  who  could  appreciate  her  merits,  but  also  the  unedu- 
cated and  lower  classes.  One  of  the  young  men,  a  farmer's 
son,  of  Belpre,  rented  and  cultivated  a  field  of  corn  on  the 
island,  near  the  avenue  leading  from  the  house  to  the  river, 
for  the  sole  purpose  of  stealing  a  look  at  her  beautiful  per- 
son, as  she  passed  by,  on  her  way  to  ride  or  walk,  as  she 
was  wont  to  do    every   pleasant  day.     Wirt's    celebrated 


HARM  AN    BLENNERHASSETT.  505 

panegyric  on  this  lady  was  in  no  way  undeserved;  although 
in  appearance  so  much  like  romance. 

Eight  years  had  passed  rapidly  and  happily  away  since 
they  took  possession  of  their  island  home.  Two  children, 
Harman  and  Dominie,  had  been  added  to  their  domestic 
blessings,  whose  lively  prattle  and  cheerful  smiles  served  to 
make  life  still  more  desirable. 

Parties  of  the  young  people  from  Marietta,  Belpre,  and 
Wood  county,  with  occasional  visits  from  more  distant  re- 
gions, whom  the  far-famed  beauty  of  this  western  Eden  had 
called  to  see  and  admire,  often  assembled  at  their  hospita- 
ble mansion.  Social  parties  of  the  older  and  more  sedate 
portions  of  the  community,  were  invited  to  visit  them,  and 
spend  several  days  and  nights  on  the  island ;  especially  fe- 
males of  the  families  where  they  visited  themselves  :  so  that 
they  were  as  abundantly  provided  with  social  intercourse, 
as  if  living  on  the  main  land.  A  large  portion  of  their  vis- 
itors came  by  water,  in  row-boats,  or  canoes;  as  the  coun- 
try was  so  new,  and  destitute  of  bridges  across  the  numerous 
creeks,  that  carriages  were  but  little  used.  If  travelers 
came  by  land,  it  was  on  horseback.  A  gentleman  of  taste, 
who  visited  the  island  in  1806,  describes  it  as  "a  scene  of 
enchantment,  a  western  Paradise,  where  beauty,  wealth, 
and  happiness,  had  found  a  home."  The  wild  condition 
of  the  surrounding  wilderness,  and  the  rude  log-cabins  in 
which  the  inhabitants  generally  lived,  by  their  striking  con- 
trast, added  greatly  to  the  marvelous  beauty  of  the  im- 
provements on  this  remote  island.  Steamboats  were  then 
unknown,  and  traveling  on  the  western  rivers  was  slow  and 
painful.  Each  man  or  family  provided  their  own  vessel; 
usually  fitted  for  the  temporary  voyage  in  the  rudest  man- 
ner. A  journey  of  one  hundred  miles  was  a  long  one; 
more  formidable  than  five  hundred  or  a  thousand  at  this 
day.     The  settlement  of  Belpre  was  the  only  one  from 


506  HARMAN    BLENNERHASSETT. 

Marietta  to  Cincinnati,  that  showed  marks  of  civilization, 
in  its  well-built  houses,  nicely  cultivated  farms,  and  blooming 
orchards :  indicating  an  intelligent  and  refined  population, 
who  could  appreciate  the  worth  of  their  accomplished  neigh- 
bors. A  gentleman  who  once  lived  in  Marietta,  and  was  a 
great  favorite  in  the  family,  from  his  many  personal  and 
mental  attractions,  says,  "  I  was  but  a  boy  when  they  left 
the  island,  but  I  had  been  a  favorite  in  the  family  for  years, 
and  had  passed  many  of  my  happiest  days  in  their  society. 
My  intimacy  in  the  family  of  Blennerhassett,  is  like  an 
oasis  in  the  desert  of  life.  It  is  one  of  those  'green  spots  in 
the  memory's  waste,'  which  death  alone  can  obliterate ;  but 
the  verdure  of  the  recollection  is  destroyed  by  the  knowl- 
edge of  their  ruin  and  misfortunes." 

In  an  evil  hour  this  peaceful  and  happy  residence  was 
entered  by  Aaron  Burr,  who,  like  Satan  in  the  Eden  of  old, 
visited  this  earthly  Paradise,  only  to  deceive  and  destroy. 
"Like  some  lost,  malignant  spirit,  going  to  and  fro  upon 
the  earth,  to  harass  and  sneer  at  poor  humanity ;  was 
always  so  courteous,  so  polite  and  decorous ;  so  interesting, 
nay,  fascinating,  when  he  strove  to  engage  the  attention, 
that  it  was  impossible  to  resist  his  influence.  It  was  the  at- 
mosphere of  his  presence  that  poisoned  all  who  came  within 
its  reach." 

In  the  spring  of  the  year  1805,  this  intriguing  and  artful 
man  first  visited  the  valley  of  the  Ohio,  his  mind  restless 
and  uneasy,  a  disappointed,  vexed  man,  whose  hands  were 
still  red  with  the  blood  of  the  great  and  noble-minded  Ham- 
ilton. No  ordinary  occupation  could  satisfy  the  mind  of 
such  a  being;  but  some  vast,  difficult,  and  grand  scheme  of 
ambition  must  be  sought  out,  on  which  he  could  employ  his 
exuberant  faculties.  Filled  with  his  future  project  of  found- 
ing a  vast  empire  in  the  provinces  of  Mexico,  with  a  portion 
of  the  valley  of  the  Mississippi,  then,  as  he  had  ascertained, 


HARMAN    BLENNERHASSETT.  507 

ripe  for  revolution,  (but  the  plan  chiefly  confined,  at  that 
time,  under  a  cloud  of  mystery,  purporting  to  be  a  set- 
tlement of  the  lands  he  had  bargained  for  on  the  Washita 
river.)  "  He  descended  the  Ohio  in  a  boat,  landing  as  a 
passing  traveler,  merely  to  see  and  admire  the  far-famed 
improvements  of  the  island.  Mr.  Blennerhassett,  hearing 
that  a  stranger  was  on  his  lawn,  sent  a  servant  to  invite 
him  to  the  house.  The  wily  serpent  sent  his  card,  with  an 
apology  ;  but  Mr.  Blennerhassett,  with  his  usual  hospitality, 
walked  out  and  insisted  on  his  remaining  a  day  or  two. 
He,  however,  made  a  visit  of  only  a  few  hours ;  long  enough 
to  introduce  the  subject  of  a  splendid  land  speculation  on 
the  Red  river,  and  to  allude  to  the  prospect  of  a  war  of  the 
United  States  with  Spain,  and  the  ease  with  which  the  Mexi- 
cans might,  with  a  little  aid,  throw  off  the  foreign  yoke 
which  had  so  long  oppressed  them.  He  then  proceeded  on 
his  way. 

A  large  portion  of  the  following  winter  was  spent  by  Mr. 
Blennerhassett  and  his  lady,  in  Philadelphia  and  New  York, 
on  a  visit  to  his  old  friend  Emmitt,  where,  it  is  probable,  he 
saw  Burr  again,  and  matured  the  plan  for  a  participation  in 
the  purchase  of  Baron  Bastrop's  lands  on  the  Washita,  as 
he  had  addressed  a  letter  to  him  on  that  subject  before  leav- 
ing home,  in  December,  wishing  to  become  a  partner  in  any 
purchase  he  might  make  of  western  lands  :  also  offering  to 
aid  in  the  Mexican  enterprise,  as  was  afterward  ascertained 
in  the  trial  at  Richmond. 

The  next  August  we  find  Aaron  Burr  at  Pittsburg,  in 
company  with  his  accomplished  daughter,  Mrs.  Theodosia 
Alston,  on  his  way  down  the  Ohio  river.  He  again  visited 
the  island,  with  his  daughter,  where  he  spent  several  days ; 
he,  in  the  meantime,  taking  up  his  abode  at  Marietta,  where 
several  of  the  inhabitants  received  him  with  marked  atten- 
tion;  while  others   looked   upon   him  with  contempt  and 


508  IIARMAN    BLENNERHASSETT. 

abhorrence,  as  the  murderer  of  Col.  Hamilton;  especially 
the  old  officers,  friends  and  associates  of  that  excellent  man. 
It  was  in  September,  at  the  period  of  the  annual  militia 
muster;  the  regiment  was  assembled  on  the  commons,  and 
Col.  Burr  was  invited  by  the  commander  to  exercise  the 
men,  which  he  did,  putting  them  through  several  evolutions. 
In  the  evening  there  was  a  splendid  ball,  at  which  he  at- 
tended, and  was  long  after  known  as  the  Burr  ball. 

Early  in  this  month  the  contract  was  made  for  boats  to 
be  built  on  the  Muskingum  river,  six  miles  above  the  mouth, 
for  the  purpose,  as  was  said,  of  conveying  the  provisions 
and  adventurers  to  the  settlement  in  the  new  purchase. 
There  were  fifteen  large  bateaux;  ten  of  them  forty  feet 
long,  ten  feet  wide,  and  two  and  a  half  feet  deep;  five 
others  were  fifty  feet  long,  pointed  at  each  end,  to  push,  or 
row  up  stream  as  well  as  down.  One  of  these  was  consid- 
erably larger,  and  fitted  up  with  convenient  rooms,  a  fire- 
place, and  glass  windows;  intended  for  the  use  of  Mr. 
Blennerhassett  and  family,  as  he  proposed  taking  them  with 
him  to  the  new  settlement,  and  is  an  evidence  he  did  not 
then  think  of  any  hostile  act  against  the  United  States.  To 
these  was  added  a  keel-boat,  sixty  feet  long,  for  the 
transport  of  provisions.  A  contract  for  bacon,  pork,  flour, 
whisky,  &c,  was  made,  to  the  amount  of  two  thousand  dol- 
lars, and  a  bill  drawn  on  Mr.  Ogden,  of  New  York,  for  the 
payment.  The  boats  cost  about  the  same  sum,  for  which 
Mr.  Blennerhassett  was  responsible.  One  main  article  of 
the  stores  was  kiln-dried,  or  parched  corn,  ground  into  meal ; 
which  is  another  evidence  that  the  men  engaged  in  the  ex- 
pedition, were  to  march  a  long  distance  by  land,  and  carry 
this  parched  meal  on  their  backs ;  of  which,  a  pint  mixec1 
with  a  little  water,  is  a  day's  ration,  as  practiced  by  the 
western  Indians.  Several  hundred  barrels  of  this  article 
were  prepared ;  some  of  which  was  raised  on  the  island  and 


HARMAN    BLENNERHASSETT.  509 

parched  in  a  kiln  built  for  that  purpose.  The  boats  were  to 
be  ready  by  the  9th  of  December ;  rather  a  late  period,  on 
account  of  ice,  which  usually  forms  in  this  month ;  but  they 
were  tardy  in  making  the  contract. 

Col.  Burr  remained  in  the  vicinity  three  or  four  weeks, 
making  a  journey  to  Chillicothe.  His  son-in-law,  Alston, 
came  out  and  joined  his  wife  at  the  island,  and  with  her 
and  Mr.  Blennerhassett,  who  accompanied  them,  proceeded 
on  to  Lexington,  Ky.,  early  in  October.  Many  young  men 
in  the  vicinity  of  Marietta,  Belpre,  and  various  other  points 
on  the  river,  were  engaged  to  join  in  the  expedition ;  of  which 
Col.  Burr  was  the  leader.  They  were  told  that  no  injury 
was  intended  to  the  United  States ;  that  the  President  was 
aware  of  the  expedition  and  approved  it;  which  was  to 
make  a  settlement  on  the  tract  of  land  purchased  by  the 
leaders  in  the  Baron  Bastrop  grant,  and  in  the  event  of  a 
war  breaking  out  between  this  country  and  Spain,  which 
had  for  some  time  been  expected,  they  were  to  join  with  the 
troops  under  Gen.  Wilkinson,  and  march  into  the  Mexican 
provinces,  whose  inhabitants  had  long  been  ready  for  revolt, 
and  prepared  to  unite  with  them.  This  was  no  doubt  the 
truth,  as  believed  by  Mr.  Blennerhassett,  and  those  engaged 
under  him,  whatever  may  have  been  the  ulterior  views  of 
Burr.  Not  one  of  all  that  number  enlisted  on  the  Ohio, 
would  have  hearkened  for  a  moment,  to  a  separation  of  the 
western  from  the  eastern  states ;  and  when  the  act  of  the 
Ohio  Legislature  was  passed,  to  suppress  all  armed  assem- 
blages, and  take  possession  of  boats  with  arms  and  pro- 
visions, followed  by  the  proclamation  of  the  President,  they, 
almost  to  a  man,  refused  to  embark  further  in  the  enterprise. 

The  bateaux  were  calculated  to  carry  about  five  hundred 
men;  and  probably  a  large  portion  of  that  number  had  been 
engaged,  expecting  to  receive  one  hundred  acres  of  land  for 
each  private,  and  more  for  officers.    As  to  their  being  required 


510  HARMAN    BLENNEKIIASSETT. 

to  furnish  themselves  with  a  good  rifle  and  blanket,  it  was 
of  itself  no  evidence  of  hostility;  as  it  is  customary,  in 
making  all  new  settlements,  for  men  to  be  armed;  as  was 
the  case  with  the  forty-eight  pioneers  of  the  Ohio  Company 
settlers,  in  1788. 

In  the  meantime,  a  rumor  had  gone  abroad,  that  Col.  Burr 
and  his  associates  were  plotting  treason  on  the  western  wa- 
ters, and  assembling  an  army  to  take  possession  of  New 
Orleans,  rob  the  banks,  seize  the  artillery,  and  set  up  a  sep- 
arate government  west  of  the  Alleghany  mountains,  of  which 
he  was  to  be  the  chief.  From  the  evidence  on  the  trial  at 
Richmond,  and  other  sources,  it  appears  that  Mr.  Jefferson 
was  acquainted  with  the  plan  of  invading  Mexico,  in  the 
event  of  a  war  with  Spain,  and  approved  it;  so  that  Burr 
had  some  ground  for  saying  that  the  government  favored 
the  project.  But  when  no  war  took  place,  and  the  parties 
had  become  deeply  involved  in  building  boats,  collecting 
provisions,  and  levying  men,  to  which  the  baseness  and 
treachery  of  Wilkinson  directly  contributed,  it  was  thought 
a  fitting  time  to  punish  the  arch-enemy  of  the  President, 
who,  by  his  chicanery,  had  well  nigh  ousted  him  from  the 
chair  of  state,  and  had  since  taken  all  opportunities  to  vil- 
ify and  abuse  him.  Another  evidence  that  the  government 
was  supposed  to  favor  the  enterprise,  is  the  fact,  that  nearly 
all  its  abettors  and  supporters  in  the  west,  until  the  procla- 
mation appeared,  were  of  the  party  called  Republicans,  or 
friends  of  Mr.  Jefferson,  and  was  opposed  by  the  Federal- 
ists, who  hated  and  despised  Burr  and  all  in  which  he  was 
engaged,  as,  from  the  character  of  the  man,  they  thought  it 
boded  nothing  good. 

By  the  last  of  October,  rumor,  with  her  thousand  tongues, 
aided  by  hundreds  of  newspapers,  had  filled  the  minds  of 
the  people  with  strange  alarms  of  coming  danger,  to  which 
the  mystery  which  overshadowed  the  actual  object  of  these 


HA  KM  AN    ELENNERHASSETT.  511 

preparations  greatly  added,  and  many  threats  were  thrown 
out,  of  personal  violence  to  Mr.  Blennerhassett  and  Col. 
Burr.  Alarmed  at  these  rumors  of  coming  danger,  Mrs. 
Blennerhassett  dispatched  Peter  Taylor  to  Kentucky,  with  a 
letter  requesting  her  husband  immediately  to  return;  where 
he  had  gone  on  a  visit  with  Mr.  Alston.  The  history  of  this 
journey,  as  related  by  Peter  in  his  evidence  on  the  trial,  is 
an  amusing  sketch  of  simplicity  and  truth.  He  was  the 
gardener  on  the  island  for  several  years,  and  was  a  single- 
hearted,  honest  Englishman,  who,  after  his  employer's  ruin, 
purchased  a  farm  at  Waterfofd,  in  Washington  county 
Ohio,  where  he  lived  many  years,  much  respected  for  his 
industry  and  integrity. 

During  the  month  of  September,  and  forepart  of  Octo- 
ber, there  appeared  a  series  of  articles,  four  or  five  in  num- 
ber, published  in  the  Marietta  Gazette,  over  the  signature 
of  Querist,  in  which  the  writer  advocated  a  separation  of 
the  western  from  the  eastern  states,  setting  forth  the  rea- 
sons for,  and  advantages  of,  such  a  division.  These  were 
answered  in  a  series  of  numbers,  condemning  the  project, 
over  the  signature  of  Regulus.  They  were  well- written, 
spirited  articles.  The  former  were  probably  written  by 
Burr;  and  the  author  of  the  last  has  remained  concealed. 
The  result,  however,  was  unfavorable  to  the  project,  and 
roused  the  public  mind  in  opposition  both  to  the  man  and 
the  cause  he  had  espoused.  Some  of  the  articles  by  Reg- 
ulus were  much  applauded  by  the  editor  of  the  Aurora,  a 
leading  government  paper  of  that  day,  who  considered  the 
writer  a  very  able  and  patriotic  man. 

The  last  of  November,  Mr.  Jefferson  sent  out  John  Gra- 
ham, a  clerk  in  one  of  the  public  offices,  as  a  spy,  or  agent, 
to  watch  the  motions  of  the  conspirators  in  the  vicinity  of 
the  island,  and  to  ask  the  aid  of  the  governor  of  Ohio  in 
suppressing  the  insurrection,  by  seizing  on  the  boats  and 


512  HARM  AN    BLENNERIIASSETT. 

preparations  making  on  the  Muskingum.  While  at  Mari- 
etta, Mr.  Blennerhassett  called  on  the  agent  once  or  twice, 
talking  freely  with  him  on  the  objects  of  the  expedition,  and 
showed  him  a  letter  he  had  recently  received  from  Col. 
Burr,  in  relation  to  the  settlement  on  the  Washita,  in  which 
he  says  that  the  project  of  invading  Mexico  was  abandoned, 
as  the  difficulties  between  the  United  States  and  Spain  were 
adjusted.  He  also  mentioned  his  arrest  and  trial  before  the 
Federal  Court,  on  charge  of  "treasonable  practices,"  and 
"a  design  to  attack  the  Spanish  dominions,  and  thereby  en- 
danger the  peace  of  the  United  States ; "  of  which  he  was 
acquitted.  But  all  this  would  not  satisfy  Mr.  Graham.  He 
visited  the  governor  at  Chillicothe,  laid  before  him  the  sur- 
mises of  Mr.  Jefferson ;  and  the  Legislature,  then  in  session, 
on  the  second  day  of  December,  with  closed  doors,  passed 
an  act  authorizing  the  governor  to  call  out  the  militia,  on 
his  warrant  to  any  sheriff  or  militia  officer,  with  power  to 
arrest  boats  on  the  Ohio  river,  or  men,  supposed  to  be  en- 
gaged in  this  expedition ;  and  might  be  held  to  bail,  in  the 
sum  of  fifty  thousand  dollars,  or  imprisoned,  and  the  boats 
confiscated.  One  thousand  dollars  were  placed  at  the  dis- 
posal of  the  governor,  to  carry  out  the  law. 

Under  this  act  a  company  of  militia  was  called  out,  with 
orders  to  capture  and  detain  the  boats  and  provisions  on 
the  Muskingum,  with  all  others  descending  the  Ohio,  under 
suspicious  circumstances.  They  were  placed  under  the 
command  of  Capt.  Timothy  Buell.  A  six-pounder  was 
planned  in  battery  on  the  bank  of  the  Ohio,  in  Marietta,  and 
every  descending  boat  examined.  Regular  sentries  and 
guards  were  posted  for  several  weeks,  until  the  river  was 
closed  with  ice,  and  all  navigation  ceased.  Many  amusing 
jokes  were  played  off  on  the  military  during  this  campaign, 
such  as  setting  an  empty  tar-barrel  on  fire,  and  placing  it 
on  an  old  boat,  or  a  raft  of  logs,  to  float  by  on  some  dark; 


HARMAN    BLENNERHASSETT.  513 

rainy  night.  The  sentries,  after  hailing,  and  receiving  no 
answer,  fired  several  shots  to  enforce  their  order;  but  find- 
ing the  supposed  boat  escaping,  sent  out  a  file  of  men  to 
board  and  take  possession,  who,  approaching  in  great 
wrath,  were  still  more  vexed  to  find  it  all  a  hoax. 

On  the  6th  of  December,  just  before  the  order  of  the 
governor  arrived,  Comfort  Tyler,  a  gentleman  from  the  state 
of  New  York,  landed  at  the  island  with  four  boats  and 
about  thirty  men,  fitted  out  at  the  towns  above,  on  the  Ohio. 
On  the  9th,  a  party  of  young  men  from  Belpre  went  up  the 
Muskingum  to  assist  in  navigating  the  bateaux  and  pro- 
visions of  parched  meal  from  that  place  to  the  island.  But 
the  militia  guard  received  notice  of  their  movements,  and 
waylaying  the  river  a  little  above  the  town,  took  possession 
of  them  all  but  one,  which  the  superior  management  of  the 
young  men  from  Belpre  enabled  them  to  bring  by  all  the 
guards,  in  the  darkness  of  the  night,  and  reach  the  island 
in  safety.  Had  they  all  escaped,  they  would  have  been  of 
little  use,  as  the  young  men  engaged  had  generally  given 
up  the  enterprise,  on  the  news  of  the  President's  proclama- 
tion, and  the  act  of  the  Ohio  Legislature. 

Mr.  Blennerhassett  was  at  Marietta  on  the  6th  of  Decem- 
ber, expecting  to  receive  the  boats ;  but  they  were  not  quite 
ready  for  delivery.  On  that  day  he  heard  of  the  act  of  the 
assembly,  and  returned  to  the  island,  half  resolved  to 
abandon  the  cause;  but  the  arrival,  that  night,  of  Tyler, 
and  the  remonstrances  of  his  wife,  who  had  entered  with 
great  spirit  into  the  enterprise,  prevented  him.  Had  he 
listened  to  the  dictates  of  his  own  mind,  and  the  sugges- 
tions of  prudence,  it  would  have  saved  him  years  of  mis- 
fortune and  final  ruin. 

In  the  course  of  the  day  of  the  9th  of  December,  he 

had  notice  that  the  Wood  county  militia  had  volunteered 

their  services,  and  would  that  night  make  an  attack  on 
33 


514  HARMAN    BLENNERHASSETT. 

the  island,  arrest  him,  with  the  boats  and  men  there  as- 
sembled, and  perhaps  burn  his  house.  This  accelerated 
their  departure,  which  took  place  on  the  following  night. 
They  had  learned  that  the  river  was  watched  at  several 
points  below,  and  serious  apprehensions  felt  for  their  future 
safety;  although  the  resolute  young  men  on  board,  well 
armed  with  their  rifles,  would  not  have  been  captured 
by  any  moderate  force.  The  Ohio  river,  from  the  Little  to 
the  Big  Kenawha,  is  very  crooked  and  tortuous;  making 
the  distance  by  water  nearly  double  that  by  land. 

Col.  Phelps,  the  commander  of  the  Wood  county  volun- 
teers, took  possession  of  the  island  the  following  morning, 
and  finding  the  objects  of  his  search  gone,  determined  not 
to  be  foiled,  and  started  immediately  on  horseback  across 
the  country,  for  Point  Pleasant,  a  village  at  the  mouth  of 
the  Big  Kenawha,  and  arrived  there  several  hours  before 
the  boats.  He  directly  mustered  a  party  of  men,  to  watch 
the  river  all  night  and  arrest  the  fugitives.  It  being  quite 
cold,  with  some  ice  in  the  stream,  large  fires  were  kindled, 
for  the  double  purpose  of  warming  the  guard  and  more 
easily  discovering  the  boats.  Just  before  daylight,  the  men 
being  well  filled  with  whisky,  to  keep  out  the  cold,  became 
drowsy  with  their  long  watch,  and  all  lay  down  by  the  fire. 
During  their  short  sleep,  the  four  boats  seeing  the  fires,  and 
aware  of  their  object,  floated  quietly  by,  without  any  noise, 
and  were  out  of  sight  before  the  guard  awakened.  They 
thus  escaped  this  well  laid  plan  for  their  capture,  arriving 
at  the  mouth  of  the  Cumberland,  the  place  of  rendezvous, 
unmolested. 

On  the  13th,  Mr.  Morgan  Nevill  and  Mr.  Robinson,  with 
a  party  of  fourteen  young  men,  arrived  and  landed  at  the 
island.  They  were  immediately  arrested  by  the  militia,  be- 
fore the  return  of  Col.  Phelps.  A  very  amusing  account  of 
this  adventure  is  given  in  the  "Token,"  an  annual  of  183G, 


HARMAN    BLENNERHASSETT.  515 

written  by  Mr.  Nevill,  in  which  he  describes  their  trial  be- 
fore Justices  Wolf  and  Kincheloe,  as  aiders  and  abettors  in 
the  treason  of  Burr  and  Blennerhassett.  So  far  was  the 
spirit  of  lawless  arrest  carried,  that  one  or  two  persons  in 
Belpre,  were  taken  at  night  from  their  beds,  and  hurried 
over  on  to  the  island  for  trial,  without  any  authority  of  law. 
This  was  a  few  days  before  the  celebrated  move  in  the  Sen- 
ate of  the  United  States,  for  the  suspension  of  the  act  of 
habeas  corpus,  so  alarmed  had  they  become ;  but  was  pre- 
vented by  the  more  considerate  negative  of  the  House  of 
Representatives  After  a  detention  of  three  days,  the  young 
men  were  discharged,  for  the  want  of  proof. 

Mrs.  Blennerhassett,  who  had  been  left  at  the  island,  to 
look  after  the  household  goods,  and  follow  her  husband  at 
a  more  convenient  period,  was  absent  at  Marietta,  when 
they  landed,  for  the  purpose  of  procuring  one  of  the  large 
boats  that  was  fitted  up  for  her  use,  and  had  been  arrested 
at  Marietta;  but  was  unsuccessful,  and  returned  the  evening 
after  the  trial. 

The  conduct  of  the  militia,  in  the  absence  of  their  com- 
mander, was  brutal  and  outrageous ;  taking  possession  of 
the  house  and  the  family  stores  in  the  cellar,  without  any 
authority,  as  their  orders  only  extended  to  the  arrest  of  Mr. 
Blennerhassett  and  the  boats.  The}*-  tore  up  and  burnt  the 
fences  for  their  watch-fires,  and  forced  the  black  servants  to 
cook  for  them,  or  be  imprisoned.  One  of  them  discharged 
his  rifle  through  the  ceiling  of  the  large  hall,  the  bullet  pass- 
ing up  through  the  chamber,  near  where  Mrs.  Blennerhassett 
and  the  children  were  sitting.  The  man  said  it  was  acci- 
dental ;  but  being  half-drunk,  and  made  brutal  by  the  whisky 
they  drank,  they  little  knew  or  cared  for  their  actions. 

On  the  17th  of  December,  with  the  aid  of  the  young  men, 
and  the,  kind  assistance  of  Mr.  A.  W.  Putnam,  of  Belpre, 
one  of  their  neighbors  and  a  highly  esteemed  friend,  she, 


516  IIARMAN    BLENNERIIASSETT. 

with  her  children,  was  enabled  to  depart,  taking  with  her  a 
part  of  the  furniture,  and  some  of  her  husband's  choice 
books.  Mr.  Putnam  also  furnished  her  with  provisions  for 
the  voyage,  her  own  being  destroyed  by  the  militia,  in  whose 
rude  hands  she  was  forced  to  leave  her  beautiful  island- 
home,  which  she  was  destined  never  again  to  visit.  They 
kept  possession  for  several  daj's  after  her  departure,  living 
at  free  quarters,  destroying  the  fences,  and  letting  in  the 
cattle,  which  tramped  down  and  ruined  the  beautiful  shrub- 
bery of  the  garden,  barking  and  destroying  the  nice  or- 
chards of  fruit  trees,  just  coming  into  bearing;  and  this, 
too,  was  done  by  men,  on  many  of  whom  Mr.  Blennerhas- 
sett  had  bestowed  numerous  benevolent  acts.  It  is  due  to 
the  commander,  Col.  Phelps,  to  say  that  these  excesses  were 
mostly  perpetrated  in  his  absence,  and  that  on  his  return 
he  did  all  he  could  to  suppress  them,  and  treated  Mrs.  Blen- 
nerhassett  with  respect  and  kindness.  This  spot,  which  a 
short  time  before  was  tho  abode  of  peace  and  happiness, 
adorned  with  all  that  could  embellish  or  beautify  its  ap- 
pearance, was  now  a  scene  of  ruin,,  resembling  the  ravages 
of  a  hostile  and  savage  foe,  rather  than  the  visitation  of 
the  civil  law. 

Before  leaving  the  island,  Mr.  Blennerhassett,  not  expecting 
to  return,  had  rented  it  to  Col.  Cushing,  one  of  his  worthy 
Belpre  friends,  with  all  the  stock  of  cattle,  crops,  &c.  He 
did  all  in  his  power  to  preserve  what  was  left,  and  prevent 
further  waste.  Col.  Cushing  kept  possession  of  the  island 
one  or  two  years,  when  it  was  taken  out  of  his  hands  by 
the  creditors,  and  rented  to  a  man  who  raised  a  large  crop 
of  hemp.  The  porticoes  and  offices  were  stowed  full  of 
this  combustible  article;  when  the  black  servants,  during: 
one  of  their  Christmas  gambols,  in  1611,  accidentally  set  it 
on  fire,  and  the  whole  mansion  was  consumed.  The  furni- 
ture and  library,  a  portion  of  which  only  was  removed  with 


HARMAN    BLENNERHASSETT.  517 

the  family,  were  attached,  and  sold  at  auction  at  a  great 
sacrifice,  to  discharge  some  of  the  bills  indorsed  by  him  for 
Aaron  Burr,  a  few  months  after  his  departure. 

With  her  two  little  sons,  Harman  and  Dominic,  the  one 
six,  and  the  other  about  eight  years  old,  she  pursued  her 
way  down  the  Ohio  to  join  her  husband.  The  young  men, 
her  companions,  afforded  every  aid  in  their  power  to  make  her 
situation  comfortable ;  but  the  severity  of  the  weather,  the 
floating  ice  in  the  river,  and  the  unfinished  state  of  her 
cabin,  hastily  prepared  for  her  reception,  made  the  voyage 
a  very  painful  one.  Late  in  December  she  passed  the 
mouth  of  the  Cumberland,  where  she  had  hoped  to  find  her 
husband;  but  the  flotilla  had  proceeded  out  of  the  Ohio 
into  the  rapid  waters  of  the  Mississippi,  and  landed  at  the 
mouth  of  the  Bayou  Piere,  in  the  Mississippi  territory.  The 
Ohio  was  frozen  over  soon  after  the  boat  in  which  she  was 
embarked  left  it,  and  was  not  again  navigable  until  the  last 
of  February,  the  winter  being  one  of  great  severity.  Early 
in  January  she  joined  the  boats  of  Col.  Burr,  a  few  miles 
above  Natchez,  and  was  again  restored,  with  her  two  little 
boys,  to  her  husband,  who  received  them  with  joy  and  grat- 
itude from  the  hands  of  their  gallant  conductors. 

The  whole  country  being  roused  from  Pittsburg  to  New 
Orleans,  and  the  hue  and  cry  raised  on  all  sides  to  arrest 
the  traitors,  Col.  Burr  abandoned  the  expedition  as  hopeless ; 
and  assembling  his  followers,  now  about  one  hundred  and 
thirty  in  number,  made  them  a  spirited  speech,  thanked 
them  for  their  faithful  adherence,  amidst  so  much  opposi- 
tion, and  closed  by  saying  that  unforeseen  circumstances  had 
occurred,  which  frustrated  his  plans,  and  the  expedition  was 
at  an  end.  All  were  now  left,  the  distance  of  one  thousand 
or  fifteen  hundred  miles  from  their  homes,  to  shift  for  them- 
selves. Several  of  the  young  men  from  Belpre,  six  or 
eight  in   number,  returned   in   the   course  of  the  spring. 


518  HARMAN    BLENNERHASSETT. 

Two  brothers,  Charles  and  John  Dana,  remained  and  set- 
tled near  the  Walnut  hills ;  purchased  lands,  and  entered 
into  the  cultivation  of  cotton. 

Some  time  in  January,  Col.  Burr  and  Mr.  Blennerhassett 
were  arrested,  and  brought  before  the  United  States  Court, 
at  Natchez,  on  a  charge  of  treason,  and  recognized  to  ap- 
pear in  February.  Blennerhassett  did  appear,  and  was  dis- 
charged J7i  chief;  no  proof  appearing  to  convict  him  of  any 
treasonable  design.  Burr  did  not  choose  to  appear;  but 
soon  after  the  recognizance,  he  requested  John  Dana,  with 
two  others,  to  take  him  in  a  skiff  or  row-boat,  to  a  point 
about  twenty  miles  above  Bayou  Pierre,  and  land  him  in 
the  night ;  intending  to  escape  across  the  country  by  land. 
The  better  to  conceal  his  person  from  detection,  before 
starting  he  exchanged  his  nice  suit  of  broadcloth  clothes 
and  beaver  hat  with  Mr.  Dana,  for  his  coarse  boatman's 
dress,  and  old  slouched  white  wool  hat,  which  would  effec- 
tually disguise  him  from  recognition  by  his  intimate  ac- 
quaintance. He  proceeded  safely  for  some  days ;  but  was 
finally  arrested  on  the  Tombigbee  river,  and  with  many 
taunts  and  insults  taken  on  to  Richmond,  where  he  arrived 
the  26th  of  March,  1807.  No  bill  was  found  by  the  grand 
jury,  until  the  25th  of  June,  when  he  was  indicted  on  two 
bills ;  one  for  treason  and  the  other  for  a  misdemeanor. 
After  a  long  and  tedious  trial,  he  was  acquitted,  on  a  verdict 
of  "  not  guilty." 

Mr.  Blennerhassett  supposing  himself  discharged  from 
further  annoyance,  some  time  in  June  started  oh  a  journey 
to  visit  the  island,  and  examine  into  the  condition  of  his 
property;  which,  from  various  letters,  he  was  told  was  going 
fast  to  waste  and  destruction.  Passing  through  Lexington, 
Ky.,  where  he  had  many  friends  and  acquaintances,  he  was 
again  arrested,  on  a  charge  of  treason,  and  for  some  days 
confined  in  the  jail;    as  an  indictment  had   been   found 


HARM AN    BLENNERHASSETT.  519 

against  him,  as  well  as  Burr,  at  Richmond.'  He  employed 
Henry  Clay  as  his  counsel ;  who  expressed  deep  indignation 
at  the  illegality  of  his  client's  arrest.  "  He  had  been  dis- 
charged already  in  chief,  and  why  should  he  be  again  ar- 
rested on  the  same  supposed  offense  ? "  But  the  govern- 
ment was  unrelenting,  and  nothing  but  the  conviction  cf 
the  offender  could  appease  their  wrath.  He  was  taken,  with 
much  ceremony  and  parade  of  the  law,  to  Richmond,  where 
he  again  met  Burr,  the  originator  of  all  his  troubles  and 
misfortunes.  The  magnanimity  of  the  man  is  well  shown, 
in  that  he  never  recriminated  or  accused  his  destroyer  with 
deceiving  him,  inasmuch  as  he  had  entered  voluntarily  into 
his  plans,  and  therefore  did  not  choose  to  lay  his  troubles 
on  the  shoulders  of  another;  although  it  is  apparent,  that 
if  he  had  never  seen  Aaron  Burr,  he  would  have  escaped 
this  sudden  ruin  to  his  prosperity  and  happiness.  The  fol- 
lowing letter  is  from  the  pen  of  Mrs.  Blennerhassett,  ad- 
dressed to  her  husband  at  Lexington,  and  displays  her  noble 
and  elevated  mind,  as  well  as  her  deep  conjugal  affection. 
It  is  copied  from  the  sketch  of  Mr.  Blennerhassett,  by  Wil- 
liam Wallace,  published  in  vol.  ii,  of  the  American  Review, 
1845. 

"Natchez,  August  3d,  1807. 
My  dearest  love  :  After  having  experienced  the  greatest 
disappointment  in  not  hearing  from  you  for  two  mails,  I  at 
length  heard  of  your  arrest ;  which  afflicts  and  mortifies  me, 
because  it  was  an  arrest.  I  think  that  had  you  of  y our  own 
accord  gone  to  Richmond  and  solicited  a  trial,  it  would  have 
accorded  better  with  your  pride,  and  you  would  have  es- 
caped the  unhappiness  of  missing  my  letters,  which  I  wrote 
every  week  to  Marietta.  God  knows  what  you  may  feel  and 
suffer  on  our  accounts,  before  this  reaches,  to  inform  you  of 
our  health,  and  welfare  in  every  particular;  and  knowing 
this,  I  trust  and  feel  your  mind  will  rise  superior  to  every 


520  HARMAN    BLENNERHASSETT. 

inconvenience  that  your  present  situation  may  subject  you  to ; 
despising,  as  I  do,  the  paltry  malice  of  the  upstart  agents  of 
government.  Let  no  solicitude  whatever  for  us,  damp  your 
spirits.  We  have  many  friends  here,  who  do  the  utmost  in 
their  power  to  counteract  any  disagreeable  sensation  occa- 
sioned me  by  your  absence.  I  shall  live  in  the  hope  of  hear- 
ing from  you  by  the  next  mail ;  and  entreat  you,  by  all  that 
is  dear  to  us,  not  to  let  any  disagreeable  feelings  on  account 
of  our  separation,  enervate  your  mind  at  this  time.  Re- 
member that  all  here  will  read  with  great  interest,  anything 
concerning  you ;  but  still  do  not  trust  too  much  to  yourself; 
consider  your  want  of  practice  at  the  bar,  and  don't  spare 
the  fee  of  a  lawyer.  Apprise  Col.  Burr  of  my  warmest  ac- 
knowledgments for  his  own  and  Mrs.  Alston's  kind  remem- 
brance, and  tell  him  to  assure  her  she  has  inspired  me  with 
a  warmth  of  attachment  which  can  never  diminish.  I  wish 
him  to  urge  her  to  write  to  me.     God  bless  you,  prays  your 

M.  Blennerhassett." 

On  Burr's  acquittal,  Mr.  Blennerhassett  was  never  brought 
to  trial,  but  discharged  from  the  indictment  for  treason,  and 
bound  over  in  the  sum  of  three  thousand  dollars,  to  appear 
at  Chillicothe,  Ohio,  on  a  misdemeanor;  "for  that  whereas 
he  prepared  an  armed  force,  whose  destination  was  the 
Spanish  territory."  He  did  not  appear,  nor  was  he  ever 
called  upon  again;  and  thus  ended  this  treasonable  farce, 
which  had  kept  the  whole  of  the  United  States  in  a  ferment 
for  more  than  a  year,  and,  like  "  the  mountain  in  labor,  at 
last  brought  forth  a  mouse." 

After  the  trial  at  Richmond,  in  1807,  he  returned  to 
Natchez,  where  he  staid  about  a  year,  and  then  bought, 
with  the  remains  of  his  fortune,  a  plantation,  of  one 
thousand  acres,  in  Claiborne  county,  Miss.,  seven  miles 
from  Gibson  Port,  at  a  place  called  St.  Catharine's,  and 
cultivated  it  with  a  small  stock  of  slaves.     While  here  he 


HAKMA.N    BLENNERHASSETT.  521 

continued  his  literary  pursuits,  leaving  Mrs.  Blennerhassett 
to  superintend  both  in  doors  and  out.  The  embargo  destroyed 
all  commerce,  and  the  war  which  soon  followed  put  a  stop 
to  the  sale  of  cotton,  and  blasted  his  hopes  of  reinstating 
his  fortune  from  that  source.  In  a  letter  to  his  attorney,  at 
Marietta,  in  1808,  wherein  he  proposes  the  sale  of  his  island 
for  slaves,  he  says,  that  with  thirty  hands  on  his  plantation, 
he  could  in  five  years  clear  sixty  thousand  dollars.  Cotton 
was  then  in  demand,  and  brought  a  high  price. 

His  lady,  with  her  characteristic  energy,  rose  at  early 
dawn,  mounted  her  horse  and  rode  over  the  grounds,  exam- 
ining each  field,  and  giving  directions  to  the  overseer  as  to 
the  work  to  be  done  that  day,  or  any  alteration  to  be  made 
in  the  plans,  which  circumstances  required.  They  here 
had  the  society  of  a  few  choice  friends  in  Natchez,  and 
among  the  neighboring  planters.  On  this  plantation  they 
passed  ten  years ;  in  which  time  one  son  and  daughter  were 
added  to  the  number  of  their  children.  The  daughter  died 
when  young.  Retaining  still  a  fond  recollection  of  his  Ma- 
rietta and  Belpre  friends,  he,  in  the  year  1818,  sent  one  of 
his  sons  to  the  college  in  Athens,  Ohio,  under  the  care  of 
W.  P.  Putnam,  the  son  of  his  old  friend,  A.  W.  Putnam. 

Here  he  remained  a  year,  at  the  end  of  which  time,  find- 
ing his  fortune  still  decreasing,  and  means  much  cramped 
by  his  indorsements  for  Col.  Burr,  amounting  to  thirty  thou- 
sand dollars,  ten  thousand  of  which  were  repaid  by  Mr. 
Alston,  he  in  1819  sold  his  plantation,  and  moved  his  family 
to  Montreal ;  the  governor  of  the  province,  an  old  friend, 
having  given  him  hopes  to  expect  a  post  on  the  bench,  for 
which  he  was  well  qualified.  Misfortune  having  marked 
him  for  her  own,  soon  after  his  arrival  his  friend  was  re- 
moved from  office,  and  his  expectations  frustrated. 

He  remained  here  until  the  year  1822,  when  he  removed 
his  family  to  England,  under  an  assurance  of  a  post  from 


522  HARMAN    BLENNERHASSETT. 

the  government,  which  was  never  realized,  and  resided  in 
the  town  of  Bath,  with  a  maiden  sister. 

It  was  at  Montreal,  with  the  prospects  of  poverty  and 
blighted  hopes  thickening  around  her,  that  she  wrote  those 
beautiful  and  touching  lines  describing  "  The  Island,"  and 
her  once  happy  home,  that  may  well  be  called  her  "  La- 
ment," and  are  given  below,  as  well  worthy  of  preservation. 

THE    DESERTED    ISLE. 

Like  mournful  echo  from  the  silent  tomb, 

That  pines  away  upon  the  midnight  air, 
Whilst  the  pale  moon  breaks  out  with  fitful  gloom, 

Fond  memory  turns  with  sad,  but  welcome  care, 

To  scenes  of  desolation  and  despair; 
Once  bright  with  all  that  beauty  could  bestow, 
That  peace  could  shed,  or  youthful  fancy  know. 

To  thee,  fair  isle,  reverts  the  pleasing  dream ; 

Again  thou  risest  in  thy  green  attire ; 
Fresh,  as  at  first,  thy  blooming  graces  seem; 

Thy  groves,  thy  fields,  their  wonted  sweets  respire ; 

Again  thou'rt  all  my  heart  could  e'er  desire. 
0  why,  dear  isle,  art  thou  not  still  my  own  ? 
Thy  charms  could  then  for  all  my  griefs  atone. 

The  stranger  that  descends  Ohio's  stream, 

Charm'd  with  the  beauteous  prospects  that  arise, 

Marks  the  soft  isles,  that  'neath  the  glistening  beam, 
Dance  in  the  wave,  and  mingle  with  the  skies; 
Sees  also  one,  that  now  in  ruin  lies, 

Which  erst,  like  fairy  queen,  towered  o'er  the  rest, 

In  every  native  charm  by  culture  dress'd. 

There  rose  the  9eat  where  once,  in  pride  of  life, 
My  eye  could  mark  the  queen  of  rivers  flow ; 

In  summer's  calmness,  or  in  winter's  strife, 

Swoln  with  the  rains,  or  baffling  with  the  snow ; 
Never  again  my  heart  such  joy  shall  know.  • 

Havoc,  and  ruin,  and  rampant  war,  have  past 

Over  that  isle  with  their  destroying  blast. 


HARMAN    BLENNERHASSETT.  523 

The  black'nhig  fire  has  swept  throughout  her  halls, 
The  winds  fly  whistling  through  them,  and  the  wave 

No  more  in  spring-floods  o'er  the  sand-beach  crawls ; 
But  furious  drowns  in  one  o'erwhelming  grave, 
Thy  hallowed  haunts  it  watered  as  a  slave. 

Drive  on,  destructive  flood  !  and  ne'er  again 

On  that  devoted  Lie  let  man  remain. 

For  many  blissful  moments  there  I've  known ; 

Too  many  hopes  have  there  met  their  decay, 
Too  many  feelings  now  forever  gone, 

To  wish  that  thou  wouldst  e'er  again  display 

The  joyful  coloring  of  thy  prime  array. 
Buried  with  thee,  let  them  remain  a  blot ; 
With  thee,  their  sweets,  their  bitterness  forgot. 

And  0,  that  I  could  wholly  wipe  away 

The  memory  of  the  ills  that  work'd  thy  fall : 
The  memory  of  that  all  eventful  day, 

When  I  return' d  and  found  my  own  fair  hall 

Held  by  the  infuriate  populace  in  thrall, 
My  own  fireside  blockaded  by  a  band, 
That  once  found  food  and  shelter  at  my  hand. 

My  children,  (0,  a  mother's  pangs  forbear, 

Nor  strike  again  that  arrow  through  my  soul,) 
Clasping  the  ruffians  in  suppliant  prayer, 

To  free  their  mother  from  unjust  control ; 

While  with  false  crimes,  and  imprecations  foul, 
The  wretches,  vilest  refuse  of  the  earth, 
Mock  jurisdiction  held,  around  my  hearth. 

Sweet  isle  !  methinks  I  see  thy  bosom  torn,- 

Again  behold  the  ruthless  rabble  throng, 
That  wrought  destruction,  taste  must  ever  mourn. 

Alas,  I  see  thee  now,  shall  see  thee  long, 

Yet  ne'er  shall  bitter  feelings  urge  the  wrong ; 
That  to  a  mob  would  give  the  censure  due, 
To  those  that  arm'd  the  plunder-greedy  crew. 

Thy  shores  are  warm'd  by  bounteous  suns  in  vain, 
Columbia,  if  spite  and  envy  spring 


524  HARMAN    BLENNERHASSETT. 

To  blast  the  beauty  of  mild  nature's  reign, 

The  European  stranger,  who  would  fling 

O'er  tangled  woods  refinement's  polishing, 
May  find  (expended  every  plan  of  taste,) 
His  work  by  ruffians  rendered  doubly  waste. 

In  addition  to  the  expectation  of  office  in  England,  he 
also  had  hopes  of  recovering  an  interest  he  held  in  an 
estate  in  Ireland.  Both  of  these,  however,  failed.  He  ul- 
timately resided  in  the  island  of  Guernsey,  where  he  died 
in  1831,  aged  sixty-three  years. 

Eleven  years  after  his  death,  in  1842,  when  his  widow  and 
children  were  reduced  to  extreme  want,  she  returned  to  New 
York  with  one  of  her  sons,  both  of  them  in  very  poor  health, 
with  the  purpose  of  petitioning  Congress  for  remuneration 
in  the  destruction  of  the  property  on  the  island,  by  the 
Wood  county  militia,  in  December,  1806.  The  petition  is 
couched  in  very  feeling  and  appropriate  language,  in  which 
she  sets  forth  the  outrages  offered  to  herself  and  family, 
with  the  damages  done  to  the  house  and  property  on  the 
island. 

"  Your  memorialist  does  not  desire  to  exaggerate  the 
conduct  of  the  said  armed  men,  or  the  injuries  done  by 
them;  but  she  can  truly  say,  that  before  their  visit  the  resi- 
dence of  her  family  had  been  noted  for  its  elegance  and 
high  state  of  improvement,  and  that  they  left  it-  in  a  state 
of  comparative  ruin  and  waste;  and  as  instances  of  the 
mischievous  and  destructive  spirit  which  appeared  to  govern 
them,  she  would  mention  that  while  they  occupied  as  a 
guard-room  one  of  the  best  apartments  in  the  house,  (the 
building  of  which  had  cost  nearly  forty  thousand  dollars,)  a 
musket  or  rifle  ball  was  deliberately  fired  into  the  ceiling, 
by  which  it  was  much  defaced  and  injured ;  and  that  they 
wantonly  destroyed  many  pieces  of  valuable  furniture. 
She  would   also   state,  that,  being    apparently  under  no 


HARMAN    BLENNEEHASSETT.  525 

subordination,  they  indulged  in  continual  drunkenness  and 
riot,  offering  many  indignities  to  your  memorialist,  and 
treating  her  domestics  with  violence. 

Your  memorialist  further  represents,  that  these  outrages 
were  committed  upon  an  unoffending  and  defenseless  family 
in  the  absence  of  their  natural  protector;  your  memorial- 
ist's husband  being  then  away  from  his  home ;  and  that  in 
answer  to  such  remonstrances  as  she  ventured  to  make 
against  the  consumption,  waste,  and  destruction  of  his  pro- 
perty, she  was  told  by  those  who  assumed  to  have  the  com- 
mand, that  they  held  the  property  for  the  United  States,  by 
order  of  the  President,  and  were  privileged  to  use  it,  and 
should  use  it,  as  they  pleased.  It  is  with  pain  that  your 
memorialist  reverts  to  events,  which,  in  their  consequences, 
have  reduced  a  once  happy  family  from  affluence  and  com- 
fort, to  comparative  want  and  wretchedness ;  which  blighted 
the  prospects  of  her  children,  and  made  herself,  in  the  de- 
cline of  life,  a  wanderer  on  the  face  of  the  earth." 

This  memorial  was  directed  to  the  care  of  Henry  Clay, 
then  in  the  Senate  of  the  United  States,  enveloped  in  a  let- 
ter from  R.  Emmitt,  a  son  of  the  celebrated  man  of  that 
name.  He  says,  "  She  is  now  in  this  city,  residing  in  very 
humble  circumstances,  bestowing  her  cares  upon  a  son, 
who,  by  long  poverty  and  sickness,  is  reduced  to  utter  im- 
becility, both  of  mind  and  body,  unable  to  assist  her,  or  pro- 
vide for  his  own  wants.  In  her  present  destitute  situation, 
the  smallest  amount  of  relief  would  be  thankfully  received 
by  her.  Her  condition  is  one  of  absolute  want,  and  she  has 
but  a  short  time  left  to  enjoy  any  better  fortune  in  this 
world." 

Mr.  Clay  presented  the  memorial  to  the  Senate,  with  some 
very  feeling  and  appropriate  remarks ;  having  been  formerly 
well  acquainted  with  the  family,  and  employed  as  his  attor- 
ney, when  arrested  at  Lexington,  Ky.    It  was  taken  up,  and 


526  MARGARET    BLE  N  NE  RH  A  S  SE  TT. 

referred  to  the  committee  of  claims ;  of  which  the  Hon. 
William  Wocdbridge  was  chairman.  His  report  on  the 
memorial  is  a  very  able  and  feeling  document,  in  which  he 
advocates  the  claim  as  just,  and  one  which  ought  to  be  al- 
lowed, notwithstanding  it  had  now  been  thirty-six  years  since 
the  events  transpired.  He  says,  "  Not  to  do  so,  would  be 
unworthy  of  any  wise  or  just  nation,  that  is  disposed  to  re- 
spect, most  of  all,  its  own  honor."  This  report  sets  forth 
all  the  circumstances  attending  the  "  Burr  treason,"  as  de- 
scribed in  the  foregoing  biography.  The  documents  which 
accompany  the  report  are  very  interesting,  especially  the 
statement  of  Morgan  Neville  and  William  Robinson,  jr., 
two  of  the  young  men  who  were  arrested  and  tried  on  the 
island,  as  partizans  of  Burr,  in  December,  1806,  and  written 
for  the  future  use  of  Mr.  Blennerhassett,  a  few  days  after 
these  events  transpired.  It  is  given  as  a  correct  history  of 
the  outrages  on  the  island. 

Statement  of  Messrs.  Neville  and  Robinson,  and  affidavit 
of  Margaret  Blennerhassett  : 

"On  the  13th  day  of  December,  1806,  the  boat  in  which 
we  were,  was  driven  ashore,  by  ice  and  wind,  on  Backus's 
island,  about  one  mile  below  Mr.  Blennerhassett's  house; 
we  landed  in  the  forenoon,  and  the  wind  continuing  unfa- 
vorable, did  not  afford  us  an  opportunity  of  putting  off  until 
after  three  o'clock  in  the  evening,  at  which  time  we  were 
attacked  by  about  twenty -five  men,  well  armed,  who  rushed 
upon  us  suddenly,  and  we,  not  being  in  a  situation  to  resist 
the  fury  of  a  mob,  surrendered ;  a  strong  guard  was  placed 
in  the  boat,  to  prevent,  we  presume,  those  persons  of  our 
party  who  remained  in  the  boat,  from  going  off  with  her, 
while  we  were  taken  to  the  house  of  Mr.  Blennerhassett. 
On  our  arrival  at  the  house  we  found  it  filled  with  militia; 
another  party  of  them  were  engaged  in  making  fires,  (around 
the  house,)  of  rails  dragged  from  the  fences  of  Mr.  Blenner- 


MARGARET    BLE  NNE  RH  AS  S  E  TT.  527 

hassett.  At  this  time  Mrs.  Blennerhassett  was  from  home. 
When  she  returned,  (about  an  hour  after,)  she  remonstrated 
against  this  outrage  on  the  property,  but  without  effect;  the 
officers  declared  that  while  they  were  on  island,  the  pro- 
perty absolutely  belonged  to  them.  We  were  informed,  by 
themselves,  that  their  force  consisted  of  forty  men  the  first 
night;  and  on  the  third  day  it  was  increased  to  eighty. 
The  officers  were  constantly  issuing  the  whisky  and  meat, 
which  had  been  laid  up  for  the  use  of  the  family ;  and  when- 
ever any  complaint  was  made  by  the  friends  of  Mrs.  Blen- 
nerhassett, they  invariably  asserted  that  everything  on  the 
farm  was  their  own  property.  There  appeared  to  us  to  be 
no  kind  of  subordination  among  the  men ;  the  large  room 
they  occupied  on  the  first  floor,  presented  a  continued  scene 
of  riot  and  drunkenness;  the  furniture  appeared  ruined  by 
the  bayonets,  and  one  of  the  men  fired  his  gun  against  the 
ceiling;  the  ball  made  a  large  hole,  which  completely  spoiled 
the  beauty  of  the  room.  They  insisted  that  the  servants 
should  wait  upon  them,  before  attending  to  their  mistress ; 
when  this  was  refused,  they  seized  upon  the  kitchen,  and 
drove  the  negroes  into  the  wash-house.  We  were  detained 
from  Saturday  evening  until  Tuesday  morning;  during  all 
which  time  there  were  never  less  than  thirty,  and  frequently 
from  seventy  to  eighty  men  living  in  this  riotous  manner 
entirely  on  the  provisions  of  Mrs.  Blennerhassett.  When 
we  left  the  island,  a  cornfield  near  the  house,  in  which  the 
corn  was  still  remaining,  was  filled  with  cattle,  the  fences 
having  been  pulled  down  to  make  fires.  This  we  pledge 
ourselves  to  be  a  true  statement  of  these  transactions,  as 
impression  was  made  on  us  at  the  time. 

Morgan  Neville, 
Wm.  Roblnson,  Jr." 
Charles  Fenton  Mercer,  Esq.,  also,  in  September,  1807, 
soon  after  the  trial  at  Richmond,  made  a  full  statement  of 


52S  MARGARET    B  L  E  N  N  E  R II A  S  S  E  T  T  . 

hid  knowledge  of  the  events  on  which  the  accusation  against 
Mr.  Blennerhassett  was  founded ;  as  they  transpired  between 
the  20th  of  September  and  6th  of  December,  1806,  having 
been  himself  at  the  island  in  November;  with  his  opinion 
of  the  objects  of  the  expedition,  in  which  he  fully  clears 
Mr.  Blennerhassett  of  any  designs  against  the  peace  and 
quiet,  of  the  United  States.  Mr.  D.  Woodbridge,  of  Mari- 
etta, in  a  letter  to  the  chairman,  of  the  2d  of  April,  1842, 
makes  a  statement  of  the  loss  of  property,  from  the  attach- 
ment of  the  government,  and  the  riotous  conduct  of  the 
Wood  county  volunteers  on  the  island. 

In  August,  1842,  while  this  subject  was  under  consider- 
ation, news  arrived  of  the  death  of  Mrs.  Blennerhassett  at 
'Xew  York ;  and  nothing  more  was  done  in  the  matter. 
She,  who  had  lived  in  wealth  and  splendor,  and  imparted 
charity  to  hundreds  of  the  poor,  was  indebted  to  others  for 
a  grave.  She  died  in  the  most  destitute  condition ;  and  her 
last  days  passed  under  the  soothing  care  of  a  charitable 
society  of  Irish  females  in  New  York,  by  whom  she  was 
buried.  The  reverses  in  this  accomplished  woman's  for- 
tune, and  in  that  of  her  amiable  husband,  illustrate  the  un- 
certainties of  human  life,  and  unfold  the  mysterious  doings 
of  Providence  with  the  children  of  men.  More  than  forty 
years  have  passed  away  since  these  events  were  transacted, 
and  not  a  vestige  now  remains  of  the  splendid  and  happy 
home  of  Harman  and  Margaret  Blennerhassett.  All  has 
passed  away  like  the  vision  of  a  pleasant  dream ;  while  the 
thousands  of  passengers  who  annually  travel  up  and  down 
the  Ohio  on  steamboats,  still  eagerly  inquire  after,  and  gaze 
upon  "the  island  of  Blennerhassett"  with  wonder  and  delight. 


APPENDIX. 


[Note  A.]  The  acquaintances  formed  during  his  college  residence  at  Cambridge, 
in  many  cases  ripened  into  close  intimacy  and  friendship.  Among  his  early  friends 
and  correspondents,  is  the  name  of  John  Adams.  The  following  extract  of  a  letter, 
written  by  this  distinguished  statesman,  at  Braintrec,  Mass.,  December  5,  1760, 
exhibits  at  that  early  period,  their  mental  character  and  their  insatiable  thirst  for 
intellectual  improvement,  upon  which  were  based  their  subsequent  elevation.  Tho 
perusal  may  stimulate  others  to  imitate  so  laudable  an  example. 

Braintree,  December  5th,  17C0. 

Sir  :  I  presume  upon  the  merit  of  a  brother,  both  in  the  academical  and  legal 
family,  to  give  you  this  trouble,  and  to  ask  the  favor  of  your  correspondence.  The 
science  which  we  have  bound  ourselves  to  study  for  life,  you  know  to  be  immensely 
voluminous,  perhaps  intricate  and  involved  ;  so  that  an  arduous  application  to  books 
at  home,  a  critical  observation  of  the  course  of  practice,  the  conduct  of  the  older 
practitioners  in  courts,  and  a  large  correspondence  with  fellow  students  abroad,  as 
well  as  conversation  in  private  companies,  upon  legal  subjects,  are  needful  to  gain  a 
thorough  mastery,  if  not  to  make  a  decent  figure  in  the  profession  of  law.  The 
design  of  this  letter,  then,  is  to  desire  that  you  would  write  me  a  report  of  any  cause 
of  importance  and  curiosity,  either  in  Courts  of  Admiralty  or  Common  Law,  that 
you  hear  resolved  in  your  colouy.  And  on  my  part,  I  am  ready  and  engage  to  do  the 
same  of  any  such  causes  that  I  shall  hear  argued  in  the  province.  It  is  an  employ- 
ment that  gives  me  pleasure,  and  I  find  that  revolving  a  case  in  my  mind,  stating  it 
on  paper,  recollecting  the  arguments  on  each  side,  and  examining  the  points  through 
my  books,  that  occur  in  the  course  of  a  trial,  makes  the  impression  deeper  on  my 
memory,  and  lets  me  easier  into  the  spirit  of  law  and  practice. 

In  view  I  send  you  the  report  of  a  cause  argued  in  Boston  last  term,  and  should 
be  glad  to  know  if  the  points,  whether  the  statutes  of  mortmain  were  ever  stirred  ia 
your  colony  S  and  by  what  criterion  you  determine  what  statutes  are,  and  what  are 
not  extended  to  you."  (Here  follows  the  case  reported,  which  is  too  long  for 
insertion.) 

[Note  B.]     "  In  the  House  of  Representatives  of  the  colony  of  Connecticut,  Fri- 
day, 21st  of  May,  13th,  George  iii,  1773.     Mr.  Speaker  taring  laid  before  the  House 
\  lettirr  from  the  Speaker  of  the  House  of  Burgesses  of  the  coloLy  of  Virginia, 
34 


530  APPENDIX. 

containing  certain  resolutions  entered  into  by  said  house  on  the  12th  of  March  last; 
this  House  taking  into  consideration  the  contents  of  said  letter,  the  above-mentioned 
resolutions,  and  the  reasons  on  which  they  are  grounded,  arc  of  opinion  that  they 
are  weighty  and  important  in  their  nature  and  design,  calculated  and  tending  to 
produce  happy  and  salutary  effects,  in  securing  and  supporting  the  ancient  legal  and 
constitutional  rights  of  this  and  the  colonies  in  general,  do  approve  and  adopt  the 
measure,  and  thereupon 

Resolved,  That  a  Standing  Committee  of  Correspondence  and  Inquiry,  to  consist 
of  nine  persons,  viz. :  The  Hon.  Ebcnczer  Silliman,  Esq.,  "William  Williams,  Benja- 
min Payne,  Samuel  Holdcn  Parsons,  Nathaniel  Wales,  Silas  Dean,  Samuel  Bishop, 
Joseph  Trumbull,  and  Erastus  Wolcott,  Esq.,  whose  business  it  shall  be  to  obtain 
all  such  intelligence,  and  take  up  and  maintain  correspondence  with  our  sister  colo- 
nies, respecting  the  important  considerations  mentioned  and  expressed  in  the  afore- 
said resolutions  of  the  patriotic  House  of  Burgesses  of  Virginia,  and  the  result  of 
such  their  proceedings  from  time  to  time  to  lay  before  this  house. 

Resolved,  That  the  Speaker  of  this  House  do  transmit  to  the  Speakers  of  the  dif- 
ferent Assemblies  of  the  British  colonies  on  this  continent,  copies  of  these  resolu- 
tions, and  request  that  they  would  come  into  similar  measures,  and  communicate, 
from  time  to  time,  with  the  said  committee,  on  all  matters  wherein  the  common 
welfare  and  safety  of  the  colonics  are  concerned. 

[Note  C]  In  the  House  of  representatives  of  the  colony  of  Connecticut,  June 
3, 1774.  Whereas  a  Congress  of  Commissioners  from  the  several  British  colonies  in 
America,  is  proposed  by  some  of  our  neighboring  colonies,  and  thought  necessary : 
and  whereas,  it  may  be  found  expedient  that  such  Congress  should  be  convened  be- 
fore the  next  session  of  the  Assembly, 

Resolved,  by  this  House,  that  the  Committee  of  Correspondence  be,  and  they  arc 
hereby,  empowered,  on  application  to  them  made,  or  from  time  to  time  as  may  be 
found  necessary,  to  appoint  a  suitable  number  to  attend  such  Congress  or  Convention 
of  Commissioners,  or  Committees  of  the  several  colonics  in  British  America;  and 
the  persons  thus  to  be  chosen,  shall  be,  and  th?y  hereby  are,  directed,  in  behalf  at 
the  colony,  to  attend  such  Congress,  to  consult  and  advise  on  proper  measures  for 
advancing  the  best  good  of  the  colonies;  and  such  conferences  from  time  to  time  to 
report  to  this  House. 

[Note  D.]  "New  London,  July  28th,  1774. 

Dear  Sir  :  On  the  refusal  of  three  of  our  commissioners  to  attend  the  Congress, 
I  have  received  a  notification  to  attend  a  meeting  of  the  Committee  of  Correspond- 
ence, at  Hartford,  next  Wednesday,  to  make  a  further  appointment,  and  also  a  de- 
sire to  notify  you  of  the  time  and  place  of  our  meeting.  If  you  will  come  to  New 
London  on  Monday,  we  will  go  together.  I  hope  no  business  of  a  private  nature 
will  divert  you  from  attending  this  important  public  business.     As  the  eyes  of  aE 


APPENDIX.  531 

the  continent  are  upon  the  Congress  for  relief,  so  I  think  we  should  be  unpardonable,  to 
suffer  small  things  to  divert  us  from  attending  to  make  the  appointment. 

I  am,  sir,  your  friend, 

Samuel  H.  Parsons. 
Col.  Joseph  Trumbull,  Norwich." 

[Note  E.]  The  following  letter,  written  June  7,  1774,  to  Samuel  Adams,  by  a 
member  of  the  Committee  of  Correspondence,  soon  after  the  passage  of  the  resolution 
of  June  3d,  by  the  Connecticut  Assembly,  illustrates  the  ardent  patriotism  which 
inspired  the  gentlemen  composing  that  committee,  and  their  earnest  desire  and  effi- 
cient influence  in  promoting  the  important  object  of  a  Convention  of  the  Colo- 
nies, or  General  Congress.  It  alludes  to  a  letter  which  may  be  found  in  Force's 
Archives. 

"  Sir  :  You  will  have  received  a  letter  from  our  General  Committee  of  Corres- 
pondence before  this  comes  to  hand.  By  that  you  will  find  that  a  General  Congress 
of  Commissioners  from  all  the  colonies  is  expected,  and  that  in  the  opinion  of  people 
here,  that  will  be  a  necessary  step  to  unite  the  several  colonies  in  the  most  effectual 
measures  to  oppose  the  designs  of  Administration  ;  who  doubtless  expect  that  the 
other  governments  will  sit  still,  tame  spectators,  while  they  wreak  their  vengeance  on 
Boston,  if  they  are  left  untouched. 

This  town  had  a  full  meeting  yesterday,  in  which  it  was  easily  seen  that  the  spirit 
of  our  people  is  as  high  as  ever,  and  full  as  determined  to  oppose,  with  vigor  and 
resolution,  the  wicked  and  unjust  attempts  of  our  enemies.  The  Committee  of  Cor- 
respondence have  this  day  written  to  the  Committee  of  Correspondence  for  the  town 
of  Boston,  on  the  subject." 

[Note  F.]  "  To  the  Honorable  General  Assembly  now  sitting,  the  memo- 
rial of  Samuel  H.  Parsons,  humbly  showeth  :  That  in  April,  1775,  the  memorialist* 
Mr.  Silas  Dean  and  Col.  Samuel  Wyllys,  with  others,  were  induced,  from  the  partic- 
ular situation  of  public  affairs,  to  undertake  surprising  and  seizing  the  enemy's  post 
at  Ticonderoga,  without  the  knowledge  and  approbation  of  the  Assembly ;  and  to 
prosecute  the  business,  were  necessitated  to  take  out  a  quantify  of  money  from  the 
treasury,  for  which  they  gave  their  promissory  receipt ;  that  the  whole  moneys  were 
delivered  to  the  gentlemen  sent  on  that  service,  and  were  actually  expended  therein. 
That  said  receipts  are  still  held  against  the  promissors,  notwithstanding  the  public 
nave  taken  the  post  into  their  own  hands,  and  repaid  the  expense.  Your  memorialist 
therefore  prays  your  honors  to  order  said  receipts  to  be  given  up ;  that  the  sums 
thereof  be  allowed  the  treasurer  in  settlement ;  and  he,  as  in  duty  bound,  &c. 

Dated  in  Hartford,  the  30th  of  May,  1777. 

Samuel  H.  Parsons. 

The  action  of  the  Legislature,  and  the  original  receipts,  are  recorded  in  the  office 
of  the  Secretary  of  State  at  Hartford. 


532  APPENDIX 

[Note  G.]     Gen.  Parsons  to  Gen.  Washington  : 

"New  Haven,  May  25th,  1777. 

Dear  General  :  Having  received  information  that  the  enemy  were  collecting 
forage,  horses,  &c,  on  the  east  end  of  Long  Island,  I  ordered  a  detachment  from 
the  several  regiments  then  at  this  place,  consisting  of  one  major,  four  captains,  viz. : 
Troop,  Pond,  Mansfield,  and  Savage,  and  nine  subalterns,  and  two  hundred  and 
twenty  men,  commissioned  officers  and  privates,  under  the  command  of  Col.  Meigs, 
to  attack  their  different  posts  on  that  part  of  the  island,  and  destroy  the  forage,  etc., 
which  they  have  collected.  Col.  Meigs  embarked  his  men  here,  in  thirteen  whale- 
boats,  the  21st  inst.,  and  proceeded  to  Guilford,  but  the  wind  proving  high,  and  the 
sea  rough,  could  not  pass  the  sound  until  Friday,  the  23d.  He  left  Guilford,  at 
10  o'clock  on  the  afternoon  of  the  23d,  with  one  hundred  and  seventy  of  his  de- 
tachment, and  under  convoy  of  two  armed  sloops,  and  in  company  with  another  un- 
armed, (to  bring  off  prisoners.)  crossed  the  sound,  to  the  north  branch  of  the  island, 
near  Southold,  where  he  arrived  about  6  o'clock  in  the  evening;  the  enemy's  troops 
on  this  branch  of  the  island  had  marched  for  New  York  tvro  days  before ;  but 
about  sixty  of  the  enemy  remaining  at  a  place  called  Sagg  Harbor,  about  fifteen 
miles  distant,  on  the  south  branch  of  the  island,  he  ordered  eleven  whale-boats,  with 
as  many  men  as  could  be  safely  transported  across  the  bay,  over  the  land  to  the  bay, 
where  they  re-embarked,  to  the  number  of  one  hundred  and  thirty,  and  at  about  12 
o'clock,  arrived  safe  across  the  bay,  within  about  four  miles  of  the  harbor;  where, 
having  secured  the  boats  in  the  woods,  under  the  care  of  a  guard,  Col.  Meigs  formed 
his  remaining  little  detachment  in  proper  order  for  attacking  the  different  posts  and 
quarters  of  the  enemy,  and  securing  the  vessels  and  forage  at  the  same  time.  They 
marched  in  the  greatest  order  and  silence,  and  at  2  o'clock  arrived  at  the  harbor. 
The  several  divisions,  with  fixed  bayonets,  attacked  the  guards  and  posts  assigned 
them,  whilst  Capt.  Troop,  with  thn  f)ptarhm<>nt  under  his  command,  secured  the  ves- 
sels and  forage  lying  at  the  wharf.  The  alarm  soon  became  general,  when  an  armed 
schooner  of  twelve  guns  and  seventy  men,  within  one  hundred  and  fifty  yards  of  the 
wharf,  be<*an  a  fire  upon  our  troops,  which  continued,  without  cessation,  for  three- 
quarters  of  an  hour,  with  grape  and  round  shot ;  but  the  troops,  with  the  greatest 
intrepidity,  returned  the  fire  upon  the  schooner,  and  set  fire  to  the  vessels  and  forage, 
and  killed  and  captured  all  the  soldiers  and  sailors,  eicept  about  six,  who  made  their 
escape  under  cover  of  the  night.  Twelve  brigs  and  sloops,  one  an  armed  vessel  with 
twelve  guns,  about  one  hundred  and  twenty  tons  of  pressed  hay,  oats,  corn,  and  other 
forage,  ten  hogsheads  of  ruin,  and  a  large  quantity  of  other  merchandize,  were  en- 
tirely consumed.  It  gives  mc  the  greatest  satisfaction  to  hear  the  officers  and  sol- 
diers, without  exception,  behaved  with  the  greatest  bravery,  order,  and  intrepiditj. 
Col.  Meigs,  having  finished  the  business  on  which  he  was  sent,  returned  safe,  wilk 
all  his  men,  to  Guilford,  by  2  o'clock,  P.  M.,  yesterday,  with  ninety  prisoners;  hav- 
ing, in  twenty-five  hours,  by  land  and  water,  transported  his  men  full  ninety  miles, 


APPENDIX.  538 

and  succeeded  in  his  attempts,  beyond  my  most  sanguine  expectations,  without  losing 
a  single  man,  either  killed  or  wounded. 

It  gives  me  singular  pleasure  to  hear  no  disposition  appeared  in  any  one  soldier,  to 
plunder  the  inhabitants,  or  violate  private  property,  in  the  smallest  degree;  and  that- 
even  the  clothing  and  othei  articles  belonging  to  the  prisoners,  the  soldiers,  with  a 
generosity  not  learned  from  British  troops,  have,  with  gre^.t  cheerfulness,  restored  to 
them,  where  they  have  fallen  into  their  hands. 

Maj.  Humphreys,  who  waits  on  your  excellency,  with  the  account,  was  in  the 
action,  with  Col.  Meigs,  and  will  be  able  to  give  any  further  necessary  inform- 
ation, &c,:  &c." 

[Note  H.]  "  Peekskill,  July  30th,  1777. 

Dear  General  :  The  designs  of  the  enemy,  and  the  importance  of  the  posts  in 
the  various  parts  of  the  country,  are,  doubtless,  better  understood  by  your  excellency, 
than  I  can  pretend  to  know  them.  This  ought  not  to  prevent  my  proposing  my  sen- 
timents to  your  excellency's  consideration  :  in  this  I  do  no  more  than  my  duty,  and 
if  I  am  mistaken,  it  can  be  no  ill  consequence  to  any  one  but  myself.  The  posts  ou 
the  North  river  have  always  appeared  to  me  of  greater  importance  to  the  enemy, 
than  any  in  America,  and  the  most  difficult  to  obtain,  if  any  considerable  body  of 
men  were  left  to  defend  them.  In  this  light  they  have  been  generally  viewed,  as 
the  communication  between  the  eastern  and  southern  states  will  be  almost  wholly 
cut  off,  if  the  enemy  hold  the  passes  in  or  near  the  river.  When  I  was  last  at  head- 
'  quarters,  it  was  thought  of  so  much  importance,  that  Gen.  Nixon's  brigade  wa3 
'•ordered  not  to  march  for  Albany,  until  I  should  arrive  within  a  day's  march  of 
Peekskill,  when  three  brigades  and  the  militia  would  have  then  been  left  at  the  post. 
If  the  post  is  of  so  much  importance  to  be  held,  and  the  intention  of  the  enemy  not 
fully  known,  it  appears  to  me  very  necessary  that  a  body  of  troops,  sufficient  for  the 
defense  of  it,  should  be  left  here.  The  militia  are  to  leave  us  to-morrow ;  two  brig- 
ades are  ordered  over  the  river  for  Philadelphia.  About  two  thousand  men  are  then 
left  to  defend  the  forts,  man  the  ships,  and  other  commands,  and  to  defend  the 
passes  through  the  mountains;  one  thousand  of  which  will  be  necessarily  detached 
over  the  river,  and  in  the  ships,  and  to  other  posts;  the  remaining  number  much 
too  small  to  answer  the  expected  purposes.  That  the  enemy  do  not  design  to  attack 
any  other  place  at  present,  I  think  most  probable  for  these  reasons :  That  no  object 
can  be  of  so  much  importance  toward  subjugating  the  country;  and  if  a  junction  of 
Mr.  Howe's  army,  with  that  at  the  northward,  is  an  event  they  wish  to  take  place,  it 
can  no  other  way  be  so  easily  effected,  as  by  this  river.  The  force  left  in  and  about 
York  island,  is  certainly  much  larger  than  is  necessary  for  the  defense  of  New 
York.  I  think  there  can  be  doubt  but  they  have  six  thousand  men  left  there,  and 
unless  this  army  is  much  greater  than  I  conceive  it  to  be,  he  cannot  have  with  the 
fleet,  men  sufficient  to  effect  anything  considerable  against  the  force  he  would  expect 
to  meet  at  any  other  place  southward  of  this  post.     On  these  grounds,  I  am  still  oi 


534  APPENDIX. 

opinion  the  enemy  are  designed  here,  and  the  present  maneuver  is  to  draw  off  our 
troops  from  this  place.  The  difficulty  of  carrying  the  post,  if  a  good  body  of  troops 
«cre  left  here,  I  think  will  fully  justify  the  maneuver  of  the  enemy.  They  have 
never  attempted  to  obstruct  our  passage  over  the  river,  which  was  always  in  their 
power.  This  I  think  strengthens  the  opinion  they  design  to  attack  here.  Under 
these  circumstances  I  feel  myself  exceedingly  concerned  that  so  many  of  the  troops 
are  drawn  to  so  great  a  distance;  'tis  not  my  own  reputation  only  which  gives  me  so 
much  concern,  though  I  am  very  sensible  the  little  I  have  will  be  forever  lost,  if  the 
post  is  uot  maintained,  and  I  think  the  most  sanguine  person  can  have  very  little 
hope  of  it,  with  no  greater  force  than  will  remain  here  ;  with  the  four  brigades,  and 
what  assistance  we  can  have  from  the  militia,  there  might  be  a  prospect  of  maintain- 
ing it  against  the  main  body  of  the  enemy  until  your  excellency's  arrival  here ; 
otherwise  I  see  very  little  prospect  of  holding  out  one  day.  However,  I  hope  I  may 
be  mistaken  in  my  conjecture ;  if  I  should  be,  I  shall  be  heartily  rejoiced.  The  two 
brigades  should  join  you,  and  I  wish  I  may  be  added  to  the  number. 
I  am  your  excellency's  obedient  servant, 

Samuel  H.  Parsons. 
To  Gen.  Washington. 

[Note  L.]     Gen.  Parsons  to  Gov.  Trumbull : 

THE   ATTACK   ON   FORT    MONTGOMERY. 

Extract.  Danbury,  October  7th,  1777. 

Sir  :  I  came  this  morning  to  forward,  with  all  possible  expedition,  such  troops  as 
I  should  find  coming  to  our  aid  from  Connecticut.  I  am  much  pleased  to  find  my 
countrymen  seem  again  roused  from  the  stupor  which  had  sewed  them.  I  think  by 
appearances  that  we  shall  soon  receive  a  re-cnforccmcnt  of  tmo  thousand  men  from 
this  State.     Happy  would  I  have  been  had  the  fourth  of  this  body  arrived  yesterday. 

I  am  sorry  to  inform  your  excellency  that  the  enemy  made  a  successful  attack  on 
Fort  Montgomery  yesterday.  The  5th,  they  landed  about  fifteen  hundred  men  at 
King's  Ferry,  on  the  east  side  of  the  river,  under  cover  of  their  ships  and  armed  ves- 
sels, and  the  night  after,  re-embarked  most  of  them.  Which,  with  a  large  additional 
number,  (about  twenty-five  hundred  in  the  whole,)  were  landed  on  the  west  side 
(the  6th)  in  the  morning,  keeping  a  large  reserve  on  board  and  at  King's  Ferry. 

About  10  o'clock  the  enemy  began  the  attack  on  the  fort,  which  lasted  without 
cessation,  uutil  near  half-after  six  in  the  evening,  when  the  fort  was  carried  by 
storm,  after  eight  or  ten  unsuccessful  attempts,  in  which  they  were  repulsed,  with 
great  loss.  The  courage  and  bravery  displayed  by  the  troops  (principally  militia  from 
New  York)  who  defended  the  post,  would  do  honor  to  the  best  disciplined  regiment. 
No  terms  would  be  accepted,  but  with  fortitude  seldom  found,  ihcy  undauntedly 
stood  the  shock,  determined  to  defend  the  fort  or  sell  their  lives  as  dear  as  possible. 
The  fort  was  finally  taken,  merely  for  want  of  men  to  man  the  lines,  and  not  for 
want  of  spirit  in  the  men.     But  about  five  hundred  was;  afforded  to  man  the  post  and 


APPENDIX.  535 

outworks  belonging  to  thein  :  a  number  of  men  not  more  than  sufficient  to  defend 
the  largest  fort.  The  post  on  the  east  side  was  left  in  a  weak,  defenseless  state,  and 
could  afford  but  little  aid. 

Thus  was  a  post  of  importance,  and  the  lives  and  liberties  of  some  of  the  bravest 
men,  made  a  sacrifice  to  the  careless  iuatteution  of  our  countrymen  to  objects  of 
great  and  extensive  public  importance.  The  enemy  must  have  suffered  much,  as 
more  than  three  hours  of  this  attack  the  musketry  was  incessant  within  forty  yards, 
and  less  a  greater  part  of  the  time.  Gov.  Clinton,  who  commanded,  and  Col.  Lamb 
and  some  other  officers,  escaped  after  the  enemy  had  entered.  Gen.  James  Clinton 
was  wounded,  and  is  a  prisouer.  Maj.  Humphrey,  Col.  Dubois,  Lieut.  Col.  Liv- 
ingston, and  sundry  other  officers,  are  missing. 

This  event  is  unfortunate,  but  I  hope  will  not  be  attended  by  any  very  ill  conse- 
quences. I  think  a  little  more  patience  and  public  virtue,  (which  is  now  very  scarce.) 
will  set  all  things  right  again. 

I  am,  with  esteem,  your  excellency's  obedient  servant, 

Samuel  H.  Parsons. 

Letter  from  Gen.  Parsons  to  Gov.  Trumbull  : 
THE  CAPTURE  OF  FORT  MONTGOMERY,  AND    THE    ADVANCE  OF  GEN.  CLIN- 
TON UP   THE    NORTH    RIVER. 

JFishkill,  October  9th,  1777 

Sir  :  I  wrote  yesterday,  from  Danbury,  an  account  of  the  misfortune  which  had 
befallen  this  post,  merely  for  the  want  of  a  timely  re-enforcement  of  men  sufficient  to 
man  the  lines.  On  that  head  I  can  only  add,  that  should  this  misfortune  have  the 
happy  effect  to  rouse  my  countrymen  to  more  vigorous  exertions,  and  to  the  exercise 
of  a  degree  of  patience;  submission  and  perseverance,  necessary  to  accomplish  any 
thing  great,  or  save  the  country  from  inevitable  ruin,  wc  may  consider  the  event  as 
fortunate,  rather  than  as  an  event  from  which  any  ill  effects  will  follow. 

Gov.  Clinton,  his  brother,  Gen.  James  Clinton,  Col.  Lamb,  Col.  Maj.  Humphrey, 
and  most  of  the  officers,  and  a  great  part  of  the  men,  who  were  supposed  to  be  lost, 
have  got  in,  many  of  them  badly  wounded.  The  garrison  was  defended  with  the 
utmost  bravery:  no  men  could  do  more.  Our  loss  cannot  yet  be  ascertained  :  I 
hope  not  so  considerable  as  we  feared.  The  army  of  the  enemy  arc  now  advancing. 
We  have  no  doubt  Albany  is  their  object.  Should  they  attack  this  post., from  which 
they  arc  seven  miles  distant,  and  the  same  spirit  of  inattention  seize  our  countrymen . 
I  fear  you  will  hear  no  better  news  from  here.  Wc  shall  fight  the  enemy  if  possi- 
ble. We  shall  do  our  utmost  to  defend  ourselves,  if  attacked.  The  troops  are  in 
good  spirits.  The  issue  is  in  the  disposal  of  the  great  Arbiter  of  all  events.  I  think 
it  of  absolute  necessity  that  all  who  can  bear  arms,  and  can  be  spared,  should  be 
immediately  sent  forward  to  Poughkcepsie,  except  those  on  their  march  for  this  post.- 
who  will  join  us  here. 

Gen.  Clinton,  who  commands  the  British  forces  in  person,  must  be  defeated  at 


536  APPENDIX. 

Albany,  or  before  he  arrives  there,  or  Gen.  Gates  will  be  undone.  Every  exertion  b 
necessary  to  animate  and  encourage  the  people,  in  this  important  crisis.  That  we 
are  embarked  in  the  cause  of  justice  and  truth — in  the  cause  of  God  and  man- 
kind — is  beyond  a  doubt.  That  we  shall  finally  succeed,  I  think  equally  certain. 
When  public  spirit  prevails  over  private  interest — and  injustice  (so  scandalously  prev- 
alent at  this  time)  is  restrained,  and  religion,  and  virtue,  and  a  sense  of  our  depend- 
ence on  Heaven  for  all  our  mercies,  and  especially  deliverance  from  imminent  dan- 
ger, takes  place  of  the  vain  confidence  in  our  own  arm  and  on  our  own  strength  : 
then,  and  not  till  then,  will  our  salvation  be  brought  out;  but  I  cannot  say  that  a 
profound  belief  of  these  things,  and  a  careless  neglect  of  using  the  means  put  into 
our  hands  for  our  own  deliverance,  is  any  evidence  of  the  sincerity  of  our  profession. 
As  Gen.  Putnam  is  exceedingly  busy,  I  have  wrote  by  his  desire. 
I  have  the  honor  to  be, 

Your  excellency's  obedient  servant, 

Samuel  H.  Parsons. 

Letter  from  Gen.  Parsons  to  Gov.  Trumbull. 

THE  RETREAT  OF  GEN.  CLINTON  DOWN  THE    NORTH   RIVER. 

Peekskill,  Oct.  22d,  1777. 
Sir  :  The  enemy  prevented  our  designed  attack  upon  them  by  a  very  sudden  em- 
barkation of  their  troops  on  board  their  ships,  which  still  lie  off  Verplank's  Point. 
Every  favorable  opportunity  has  offered  for  their  going  to  New  York,  but  no  move- 
ments have  taken  place.  Their  Northern  Army  is  more  within  your  excellency's 
knowledge  than  mine.  If  we  should  soon  be  ordered  toward  New  York,  I  think 
some  aid  from  Connecticut  will  be  much  wanted.  As  I  understand  fourteen  hun- 
dred men  are  ordered  from  the  cast  side  of  Connecticut  river  to  join  Gen.  Gates, 
under  his  present  situation  would  it  not  be  best  to  order  them  to  join  this  part  of  the 
army  as  soon  as  possible. 
The  militia  from  this  post  are  all  returned  home. 

I  am  your  excellency's  obedient  servant, 

S.  H.  Parsons. 

[Note  K.]     Gen.  Parsons  to  Gen.  Washington. 
THE  STATE    OF    THE    GARRISON   AT   WEST  POINT,  AND  THE  CONTINUANCE 
OF    HIS    COMMAND  AT  THAT  POST. 

West  Point,  June  5th,  1779. 

Dear  General  :  In  answer  to  your  questions,  by  Capt.  Christie,  of  the  Pennsyl- 
vania regiment,  I  have  given  him  general  information  of  the  state  of  this  garrison, 
which  will  be  explained  by  the  proper  key.  The  garrison  arc  in  high  spirits,  and 
arc  very  desirous  to  receive  the  enemy's  attack.  I  cannot  promise  the  post  will  be 
successfully  defended,  but  I  am  certain  every  exertion  will  be  made  by  the  troops  to 
secure  the  possession  of  that  honor  to  themselves  and  their  country,  which  they  so 


APPENDIX.  537 

frequently  anticipate  in  reflection.  If  any  more  troops  are  ordered  here,  and  should 
I  continue  in  command  of  the  post  for  any  length  of  time,  I  would  beg  your  excel- 
lency to  order  my  brigade  to  compose  part  of  the  garrison.  Two  regiments  of  that 
brigade  are  perfectly  acquainted  with  the  country,  and  in  that  respect  are  better  able 
to  answer  all  the  purposes  expected  from  the  garrison. 

S.  H.  Parsons. 

[Note.  M.]     Letter  from  Gen.  Parsons  to  Gen.  Washington, 
IN   RELATION    TO    THE   INVASION    OF    CONNECTICUT    BY    GEN.    TRYON, 
JULY,    1779. 

Redding,  July  9th,  1779. 
Dear  General  :  I  have  this  moment  arrived  here,  after  a  tour  of  sixty  miles  since 
eleven  o'clock  last  night.  The  few  militia  at  New  Haven,  behaved  exceedingly  well, 
repulsed  the  enemy  several  times,  and  considerable  loss  was  suffered  by  the  enemy. 
They  burnt  a  number  of  houses  at  East  and  West  Haven,  and  plundered  New  Haven. 
They  have  destroyed  Fairfield — almost  every  house ;  the  abuses  of  women,  children, 
and  old  men,  are  unparalleled.  They  embarked  from  Fairfield  yesterday  and  passed 
over  the  sound,  but  there  is  reason  to  think  they  design  an  attack  on  Norwalk  and 
the  other  town3.  Gen.  Wolcott  has  received  an  express,  informing  him  that  four 
thousand  of  the  enemy  are  in  possession  of  Horseneck,  and  marching  eastward.  I 
have  wrote  to  Col.  Way  land,  and  the  small  number  of  infantry,  desiring  them  to 
march  to  the  coast.  I  hope  it  will  be  agreeable  to  your  excellency's  intentions.  I 
hear  nothing  of  Glover's  brigade.  Is  it  possible  to  send  one  thousand  continental 
troops  "5  They  will  serve  to  steady  the  militia,  and  render  them  a  formidable  body. 
I  will  write  you  from  Norwalk,  where  I  shall  be  to-night. 

I  am  your  excellency's  obedient  servant. 

Samuel  H.  Parsons. 

Gen.  Parsons  to  Geu.  Washington, 
INFORMING     HIM     OF     GEN.     TRYON's     LANDING    AND    BURNING    OF    NOR- 
WALK  BATTLE    WITH    TRYON RETREAT    OF    THE    ENEMY,    ETC. 

Wilton,  July  11th,  1779. 

Dear  General  :  In  my  last  I  informed  you  that  the  enemy  landed  last  night. 
This  morning,  the  enemy,  on  their  advance,  were  met  by  the  militia,  and  some  skir- 
mishing ensued,  but  without  any  considerable  effect  on  either  side.  At  about  six 
o'clock  the  troops  under  Gen.  Wolcott,  and  my  small  detachment  of  about  one  hun- 
dred and  fifty  continental  troops  joined  and  took  possession  of  an  eminence  the  north 
end  of  the  town.  The  enemy  advanced  in  our  front  and  on  our  left  flank,  until 
about  nine  o'clock,  when  they  were  checked  in  their  progress  by  the  vigorous  exer- 
tions of  the  parties  of  militia  and  continental  troops  sent  out  to  oppose  them,  and  in 


53S  APPENDIX. 

turn  were  compelled  to  retire  from  hill  to  hill,  sometimes  in  great  disorder.  We 
continued  to  advance  upon  them  until  near  eleven  o'clock,  when  a  column  having 
nearly  gained  our  right  flauk,  the  militia  in  the  center  gave  way  and  retreated  in 
disorder.  This  gave  the  enemy  possession  of  our  ground.  Gen.  Wolcott,  who  com- 
manded, exerted  himself  upon  this  occasion  to  rally  the  troops  and  bring  them  to 
ordefr  again,  but  without  effect,  until  they  had  retired  about  two  miles,  when  som: 
troops  being  again  formed,  returned  to  the  aid  of  the  right  aud  left  wings,  who  had 
retired  but  a  small  distance,  and  in  order.  With  these  the  enemy  were  pursued  again. 
and  retreated  with  precipitation  to  their  ships. 

I  have  the  pleasure  to  assure  your  excellency  the  continental  troops,  without 
exception,  they  being  all  engaged,  behaved  with  the  greatest  bravery.  Capt.  Betts, 
who  was  the  first  engaged  with  the  enemy,  aud  who  continued  longest  in  the  action, 
deserves  particular  notice  for  his  great  fortitude  and  prudent  conduct  in  the  battle. 
He  continued  advancing  on  the  enemy  until  the  center  of  the  main  body  gave  way, 
and  he  with  his  party  advanced  near  a  mile  at  the  time,  by  his  prudence  was  able  to 
effect  a  regular  retreat,  without  any  considerable  loss.  Capt.  Eels,  on  the  right,  and 
Capt.  Sherman,  on  the  left,  were  also  engaged,  and  when  obliged  to  retire,  kept 
their  order,  and  retreated  with  regularity.  A  body  of  the  militia— I  think  they  were 
commanded  by  Maj.  Porter — and  another  considerable  detachment,  deserve  honorable 
mention  to  be  made  of  them. 

I  am  not  yet  able  to  ascertain  our  own  or  the  enemy's  loss,  but  in  my  next  shall 
be  able  to  give  a  more  particular  account.  In  my  handful  of  continental  troops  I 
have  lost  five  men  killed,  a  lieutenant  and  six  privates  wounded  ;  I  don't  know  of 
any  missing:  some  loss  the  militia  have  sustained.  I  am  satisfied  the  loss  of  the 
enemy  must  have  been  considerable. 

About  twenty  boats  landed  on  the  west  side  of  the  harbor,  at  five  o'clock,  and 
immediately  began  to  set  fire  to  the  buildings.  They  completed  burning  the  town  at 
about  twelve  o'clock.  This  appeared  to  have  been  their  sole  business,  as  they  did  not 
stay  to  carry  off  any  plunder  of  considerable  value.  A  few  Tory  houses  are  left,  which 
I  hope  our  people  will  burn,  as  the  burners  are  here,  and  have  committed  no  act  by 
which  the  public  can  seize  them.  I  imagine  Stamford  will  be  the  next  object  to 
wreak  their  hellish  malice  upon.     To  that  place  I  shall  repair  to-morrow. 

I  am  fully  persuaded  that  five  hundred  more  men,  such  as  the  brave  militia  I  have 
before  mentioned,  and  the  one  hundred  and  fifty  continentals,  would  have  given  the 
enemy  a  total  defeat.  The  numbers  of  the  enemy  were  about  two  thousand— our 
numbers  between  nine  and  eleven  hundred. 

I  am,  dear  General,  your  obedient  servant. 

Samuel  II.  Parsons. 

A  more  full  and  detailed  statement  of  the  movements  of  Gen.  Tryon,  and  the 
depredations  committed  by  him  upon  the  sea  coast,  may  be  found  in  letters  from 


APPENDIX.  539 

Gen.  Parsons  to  Gen.  Washington,  dated  July  14th  and  20th,  1779,  and  to  Gen. 
Heath,  July  12th. 

His  correspondence  with  Gen.  Washington  is  large,  and  details  with  great  precision 
and  minuteness  the  movements  of  the  enemy,  as  well  as  the  plans  and  continued 
movements  of  the  few  under  his  command ;  and  likewise  exhibits  the  mutual  confi- 
dence existing  between  the  writer  and  the  commander-in-chief.  Time  and  space, 
however,  do  not  admit  a  transcript. 


